Thousands flee homes after Buddhist-Muslim clashes in Myanmar

Thousands flee homes after Buddhist-Muslim clashes in Myanmar

Muslims gather for Eid al-Adha celebrations at an Aung Min Galar mosque in Sittwe, capital of Rakhine State, in western Myanmar on Saturday. Thousands of Sittwe's residents have fled to safer grounds. (AP)

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

SITTWE, Myanmar: Thousands of displaced people have surged toward already overcrowded camps in western Myanmar after vicious new communal violence that has left dozens dead, officials said Saturday.
Seething resentment between Buddhists and Muslims erupted this week in new unrest in Rakhine state that has seen whole neighborhoods razed and caused a fresh exodus of people fleeing for safety from Rohingya minority areas.
The latest fighting, which has prompted international warnings that the nation's reforms could be under threat, has killed at least 67 people. It was unclear how many from each community had died, but a state official has said roughly half the dead were women.
Tens of thousands of mainly Muslim Rohingya are already crammed into squalid camps around the state capital Sittwe after deadly violence in June and Rakhine state officials said the latest bloodshed had caused an influx of boats carrying around 6,000 people to the city.

"The local government is planning to relocate them to a suitable place. We are having problems because more people are coming," said Rakhine government spokesman Hla Thein. Some of the displaced are still on boats while several thousand have docked on an island opposite Sittwe.
The United Nations earlier said 3,200 had made their way toward shelters in Sittwe, with a further several thousand on the way.
Residents of one camp in a coastal area on the outskirts of Sittwe said they could see boatloads of Rohingya on the shore.

"The security forces are not allowing them to come in. Some people are on the shore and some are still on their boats," Kyaw Kyaw told AFP by telephone.
He added the group of several thousand people, including women and children, was believed to be from just two towns.
State media reported that almost 3,000 homes and 18 religious buildings had been torched in seven townships during the latest fighting, which erupted on October 21, spreading to areas that had been largely untouched by the earlier conflict.
More than 150 people have been killed in the state since June, according to the authorities, who have imposed emergency rule in an attempt to control the violence.
But rights groups fear the real toll could far exceed official figures and have warned that entrenched hostilities in the region are continuing to stoke unrest.
Human Rights Watch on Saturday urged the government to protect the Rohingya, who it said were under "vicious attack," and to ensure protection and aid were given to both Muslim and Buddhist communities in the region.
"Unless the authorities also start addressing the root causes of the violence, it is only likely to get worse," said HRW deputy Asia director Phil Robertson.
The group said it had obtained satellite images showing "extensive destruction of homes and other property in a predominantly Rohingya Muslim area" of Kyaukpyu — where a major pipeline to transport Myanmar gas to China begins — with hundreds of buildings torched.
Chris Lewa, head of the Arakan Project, which campaigns for Rohingya rights, said the recent spate of clashes were "far deadlier" than the June unrest.
"Rakhine State has now spiralled into complete lawlessness," she told AFP on Saturday.
"Violence is spreading to the south and east with the clear purpose of expelling all Muslims, not just Rohingya."
Rakhine government spokesman Win Myaing told AFP that the situation was now "calm" after security forces were deployed.
He had earlier said many of the casualties suffered stab wounds in the fighting, and that the army had been forced to fire into crowds when warning shots failed to disperse them.
In Sittwe's general hospital, most of the 27 Rakhine patients were being treated for gunshot wounds, and injured men told AFP the army had fired at Rakhines to stop them from reaching Rohingya communities.
Myanmar's 800,000 Rohingya are seen as illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh by the government and many Burmese — who call them "Bengalis" — and face discrimination that activists say has led to a deepening alienation from Buddhists.

The United Nations on Friday warned that the hostilities could jeopardize the country's widely-praised reforms, which include the release of hundreds of political prisoners and the election of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to parliament.
The stateless Rohingya, speaking a Bengali dialect similar to one in neighboring Bangladesh, have long been considered by the United Nations as one of the most persecuted minorities on the planet.
Bangladesh on Thursday mobilized extra patrols along its river border with Myanmar amid reports of dozens of boats carrying Rohingya Muslim refugees fleeing the clashes.

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Government weighs options against illegal Hajis

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According to a report carried by Al-Eqtisadiah business daily, a consultancy house would study prospects of cutting down charges of domestic Haj service agents.

Interior Minister and Chairman of the Supreme Haj Committee Prince Ahmed has instructed the Haj Ministry to take measures to reduce charges imposed on domestic pilgrims.
Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, chairman of the Central Haj Committee, warned that the government would think of deporting illegal pilgrims as a majority of them are expatriate workers in the Kingdom. He also ordered an investigation into an incident where 36 pilgrims where injured when undocumented pilgrims rushed into a railway station and caused train services to be delayed.
Haj Minister Bandar Hajar said among the 230 licensed domestic Haj agencies, only 19 offered low-cost services with their prices ranging between SR 1,900 and SR 3,900.
The ministry later learned that these 19 agencies accommodated only 30,000 pilgrims. The ministry then licensed 17 more companies that helped 3,000 more pilgrims to perform Haj charging lower prices.
Deputy Makkah Gov. Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Khodairy disclosed that the higher authorities have approved the plan to build a wall around the holy sites, adding that experts are currently studying the project.

Remembering the sacrifices of Prophet Ibrahim and his family

Remembering the sacrifices of Prophet Ibrahim and his family

Even after 40 centuries, the message and the character of Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) remains exemplary for millions of people. A proponent of monotheism, he declared the Oneness of Almighty God at a time when the whole world was submerged into darkness of polytheism. In this backdrop, he heralded his determination to turn his face to the Almighty God, the One Who is the Creator of the universe.
Born in Babylon (modern Iraq) some 2000 BC, Ibrahim traveled through Syria, Egypt, Hijaz and Palestine, where he died and is buried at a place which is known after his name as Al-Khaleel. He made the entire Middle East areas as his area of operation for his mission, and assigned his nephew Lot to Sodom; his son Isaac to Palestine and planted his elder son Ismail at Hijaz. He is ancestor of most of the Prophets referred to in Old Testament, New Testament and the Holy Qur'an. He holds the highest position in world history with no parallel to him. Here we analyze his life and mission in light of the Holy Qur'an.

Ibrahim: God's friend
Almighty God chose him as His friend (Khaleel). The people of his time in Syria would worship stars (thurayya). He is said to have been invited to select a star for his own worship. But after examining the sun and the moon, he rejected the idea and turned his face towards Allah the Creator of the heavens and the earth: "When the night covered him over, he saw a star: he said: 'This is my Lord.' But when it set, he said: 'I love not those that set.' When he saw the moon rising in splendor, he said: 'This is my Lord.' But when the moon set, he said: 'Unless my Lord guides me, I shall surely be among those who go astray.' When he saw the sun rising in splendor, he said: 'This is my Lord; this is the greatest (of all).' But when the sun set, he said: 'O my people! I am indeed free from your (guilt) of giving partners to Allah. 'For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth and never shall I give partners to Allah'."

Ibrahim the iconoclast
In Iraq, King Nimrud then was powerful and a tyrant. The people were generally idolatrous and had many temples. Ibrahim was astonished to see people assigning their aspirations to idols of stones. One day when they were out of town for a festival, he entered the temple and hammered the stone-idols, mutilating their faces except the big one on which he placed the axe. When the people returned and saw their deities smashed and mutilated, they became angry. Although they felt ashamed of worshipping the idols that could not save themselves, they however decided to kill Ibrahim.
"So he broke them to pieces (all) but the biggest of them, that they might turn (and address themselves) to it. They said, 'Who has done this to our gods? He must indeed be some man of impiety!' They said, 'We heard a youth talk of them: he is called Ibrahim.' They said, 'Then bring him before the eyes of the people, that they may bear witness.' They said, 'Art thou the one that did this with our gods, O Ibrahim?' He said: 'Nay, this was done by, this is their biggest one! Ask them, if they can speak intelligently!' So they turned to themselves and said, 'Surely ye are the ones in the wrong!' Then were they confounded with shame: (they said) 'Thou knowest full well that these (idols) do not speak!' (Ibrahim) said, 'Do ye then worship, besides Allah, things that can neither be of any good to you nor do you harm? 'Fie upon you, and upon the things that ye worship besides Allah! Have ye no sense'?" (21:57-67)
"So naught was the answer of (Ibrahim's) people. Except that they said: 'Slay him or burn him.' But Allah did save him from the Fire. Verily in this are Signs for people who believe." (29:23)

Argument with the king
When caught and brought before the king, Ibrahim declared the power of his Lord in the open court: "Hast thou not turned thy vision to one who disputed with Ibrahim about his Lord, because Allah had granted him power? Ibrahim said: 'My Lord is He Who giveth life and death.' He said: 'I give life and death.' Said Ibrahim: 'But it is Allah that causeth the sun to rise from the East do thou then cause it to rise from the West?' Thus was he confounded who (in arrogance) rejected Faith. Nor doth Allah give guidance to a people unjust." (2: 258)

The migration
Ibrahim left his father and the fatherland, and migrated to Egypt with his wife Sarah and he returned triumphant to Palestine with many gifts from the Egyptian king including a maid named Hajrah. Since Sarah was barren, Ibrahim married Hajrah who gave birth to a baby boy at his old age of 95. A jealous Sarah pressed her husband to take Hajrah away from her. On the Divine Guidance, Ibrahim took Hajrah and the new born Ismail to a distant place (present day Makkah) in Hijaz. Ibrahim left his beloved wife and infant son in the barren valley with no greenery, water or human inhabitation and prayed for the prosperity and security of his offspring in this barren valley.

Moments of trial
When the little amount of dates and water left by Ibrahim was over within few days, she felt thirsty and her infant son Ismail was crying to death. She ran madly between the two nearby hillocks of Safa and Marwah looking for water. She ran seven times. The hills and hillocks echoed with her cries. This was an ordeal, a great ordeal of God. She cried again and again but called none except Him. God showered His mercy upon her and a forceful spring of sweet water gushed out near Ismail's feet. She called it Zamzam and it is flowing at the same place for the last 4,000 years. Almighty Allah declared Safa and Marwah as His signs and ordained the pilgrims to run seven times between them like His devoted lady, Hajrah: "Behold! Safa and Marwa are among the Symbols of Allah. So if those who visit the House in the Season or at other times, should compass them round, it is no sin in them. And if any one obeyeth his own impulse to Good, be sure that Allah is He Who recogniseth and knoweth." (2:158)

The great triumph
Ibrahim returned a few years later to find his infant Ismail an energetic boy. He was tested again. He saw in a dream that he was offering his son Ismail as a sacrifice to his Lord. Ismail was his only son at this ripe age. Having decided however to win His pleasure, Ibrahim told the son of his dream. Being son of a great soul, Ismail immediately agreed, for this he said was ordained by God. Ibrahim took him to Mina (near Makkah) and as he laid Ismail to slaughter him, his Lord awarded him with great pleasure and ransomed Ismail with a goat sacrifice. This is the practice which is followed by all Muslims throughout the world as Eid Al-Adha or the festival of sacrifice.

The great assembly of Haj
Haj was started by Prophet Ibrahim. It is the perfect replica of the incidents and occasions of the life of Prophet Ibrahim and his family. Here we mention the main rites of Haj and their relationship with this noble family.

I. Construction of Holy Kaaba: Almighty Allah bestowed great favor on Prophet Ibrahim and Ismail to build the Holy Kaaba at Makkah Mukarramah, which is the focal point of the true faith in the world. Muslims turn their faces towards it in prayer, five times a day from every corner of the earth. Even their dead are buried facing the Holy Kaaba.
II. Performing Tawaf: Later Almighty Allah told him to call the people to perform Haj and Tawaf.
III. Saie of Safa and Marwah: Every pilgrim is obliged to run between the two hillocks.
IV. Zamzam: This is the water, which gushed out as a gift to infant Ismail. Pilgrims drink it and take it with them as holy water to the four corners of the world.
V. Rami Jamraat: When Prophet Ibrahim was taking his son, Ismail for a sacrifice in Mina the Iblees tried the seduce the family three times and they threw dust and pebbles upon him. The pilgrims follow the same practice and throw pebbles upon Iblees seven times each in three days of Haj.
VI. Animal sacrifice: This is in commemoration of Prophet Ibrahim's decision to sacrifice his son Ismail and God's Mercy upon him to ransom it by a sheep. The pilgrims in Mina and other Muslims celebrate the Great Win by sacrificing sheep, goat, cow and camels throughout the world. About two million animals in Mina and many millions abroad are slaughtered within three days whose meat is distributed to the poor. This is the largest free food distribution program of the world on the 'Eid Al Adha' annually.
VII. Maqam-i-Ibrahim: This is the place of a stone, marked with the foot print of Prophet Ibrahim where he was standing while raising the walls of Holy Kaaba. Every pilgrim offers prayer at this blessed place in every Tawaf.
VIII. Hijr Ismail: This place marked with Prophet Ismail's name is now a part of the holy Kaaba and pilgrims offer prayer at this place.
The above rites of Haj are directly connected with the noble family of Prophet Ibrahim. Although Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) initiated Haj, there is however no Haj rite connected with his life. It is the commemoration of Prophet Ibrahim and his submission to the will of Almighty Allah.
Islam is the religion of Prophet Ibrahim. This is mainstream of Divine guidance including all prophets of Torah and the Bible. Judaism and Christianity are the offshoots of that one thread of divinity.



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Speculation about Zamzam water decried

Speculation about Zamzam water decried

ARAB NEWS

Monday 15 October 2012

Last Update 15 October 2012 2:12 am

MAKKAH: Chairman of the United Zamzam Office Suleiman Abu Ghelya has dismissed rumors appearing on some social networking sites about the genuineness of Zamzam water distributed to Haj pilgrims.
"The speculation about the genuineness of Zamzam water supplied by the Zamzam Office is not true and unfortunate," he said, attributing doubts to ignorance of religious knowledge, because Zamzam is a river in paradise that will never dry up.
Abu Ghelya made this denial when he was asked about the rumor circulating on social networking sites that ordinary water was added to Zamzam supplied to pilgrims.
He said his office planned to supply 32 million liters of Zamzam water to pilgrims in the current Haj season.
Regarding the various services offered by the United Zamzam Office, Abu Ghelya said it started operations this season with offering bottles of cooled holy water to pilgrims on the first day of the current lunar month Dul Qaadah (Sept. 17).
"We take water to pilgrims' residences in covered trucks, while our women officials visit hospitalized pilgrims and supply them with bottles of holy water," he said.
He added that his office had bought 35,000 bottles of 20-liter capacity to supply the water to pilgrims at their residences.
The office's service will continue until the last pilgrim leaves the holy city.
The Ministry of Haj has ordered the Zamzam office to supply each pilgrim with a bottle of 300 ml of the holy water at the time of arrival in Makkah and 1 liter at their residences daily besides 1.5 liter bottles at the pilgrim grouping centers, Al-Madinah daily reported yesterday.
Regarding the illegal sales of Zamzam by some gangs, he said the genuine Zamzam bottles carry the warning "not for sale" to ensure they are not sold for profit.
"However, when we notice some people selling the water illegally, we report the matter to the departments concerned," he said.
A major problem faced by his agency is the traffic department's stance of not allowing Zamzam trucks to enter the central zone around the Grand Mosque or stop at pilgrims' residential facilities. "We are striving to reach an understanding with the department to resolve this issue that comes up every year," he said.
The official said his office had made a proposal to extend the Zamzam supply service to Umrah pilgrims. The Ministry of Haj is currently studying the viability of that proposal

Newcastle Utd. footballers advised to boycott Wonga logo

There has been widespread media coverage this week, onBBC News, and in the Independent, Telegraph, Guardianand Daily Mail as well as local media, of a controversial new sponsorship deal between Newcastle United FC and the loan company, Wonga. Coverage has focussed on the advice from the Muslim Council of Britain that Newcastle's Muslim players boycott the Wonga logo on their football shirts due to the conflict arising from the company's practices and shari'ah principles. The high-interest, short-term loan company has been described by some critics as a 'legal loan shark'.

From the Independent:

"Newcastle United's £24m shirt sponsorship deal with Wonga was engulfed in fresh controversy last night when the club's Muslim players were warned that wearing the new shirts would infringe Sharia law.

"The intervention from the Muslim Council of Britain will heap further pressure on the club as it seeks to deflect widespread criticism after unveiling a four-year deal with the short-term loan company. 

"Of the Newcastle team who took the field against Manchester United on Sunday, four are practising Muslims – Demba Ba, Papiss Cissé, Cheick Tioté and Hatem Ben Arfa.

"Wonga… drew criticism from MPs for the level of interest charged on its 30-day loans. 

"The deal drew a stinging attack from Nick Forbes, the leader of Newcastle City Council, who said: "I'm appalled and sickened that they would sign a deal with a legal loan shark. It's a sad indictment of the profit-at-any-price culture at Newcastle United. We are fighting hard to tackle legal and illegal loan sharking and having a company like this right across the city on every football shirt that's sold undermines all our work." 

"Whilst it is accepted that Wonga have not behaved improperly it came in for further criticism from the Muslim Council of Britain. Under Sharia law, a Muslim is not allowed to benefit from lending money or receiving money from someone. This means that earning interest is not allowed. 

"Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, assistant secretary general of the MCB, said: "There are two aspects to this. We have the rulings of the religious law and we have the individual's choice and decision on how they want to follow or not follow that rule. 

"The idea is to protect the vulnerable and the needy from exploitation by the rich and powerful. When they are lending and are charging large amounts of interest, it means the poor will have short-term benefit from the loan but long-term difficulty in paying it back because the rate of interest is not something they can keep up with. The Islamic system is based on a non-interest-based system of transaction." 

The article states that former Spurs striker, Frédéric Kanouté was exempted from wearing the logo for the gambling website, 888.com on his shirt whilst playing for Seville because gambling contradicts his religious beliefs. 

Others who have criticised the deal include the general secretary of the Football Association, Alex Horne, Rt. Hon. David Miliband MP who is the non-executive vice-president of Sunderland AFC, and Stella Creasy MP, who has led a sustained campaign against Wonga (see here and here).

Newcastle's managing director has defended the deal, stating that "Throughout our discussions, Wonga's desire to help us invest in our young playing talent, the local community and new fan initiatives really impressed us and stood them apart from other candidates."

Newcastle United is one of a number of football clubs which has high-profile Muslim players, and appears to have embraced this diversity in the past. In May this year it was reported that Newcastle United's manager, Alan Pardew was considering introducing a prayer room at the club's ground for its Muslim players. At the time he stated "You have to respect that some players have a different religion to most of the footballers in this country… It's important that whatever the religion, we take care of it and understand it."

How I came to Islam - Dr. Laurence Brown | Interfaith Issues - Episode 3

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من كرامات الشيخ الشعراوى 1

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كرامة عجيبة للشيخ الشعراوي يرويها الشيخ عمر عبد الكافي

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Muhammad and modesty before God

Muhammad and modesty before God


Asir Gov. Prince Faisal bin Khaled with officials of the Charitable Society for Qur'an Memorization in Abha recently. (SPA)

ARAB NEWS

THE Prophet (may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him) said: "Every religion has its characteristic, and the characteristic of Islam is modesty." (Al-Muwatta)
Modesty, in the sense of shyly protecting oneself with propriety from the lustful or envious gaze, means one takes care about how to express oneself in word and deed. One does not want others to look at one strangely or as if one is blameworthy. It encourages one to be proper in behavior and thought with other people, and with one's relationship with God. The Prophet once said to his companions: "Be bashful before God according to His right to modesty before Him."
They said: "O Messenger of God, verily we are shy, praise be to God."
He said: "That is not it. Modesty before God according to His right to modesty is that you protect your mind in what it learns; your stomach in what it ingests. And remember death and the tribulations attached to it; and whoever wishes for the Hereafter, leaves the adornments of this life.
"So whoever does all that is truly bashful before God according to His Right to modesty."
Modesty and shame apply to every aspect of one's life, and awareness of God's presence helps one to be bashful and seemly in the way we comport ourselves in every activity we are engaged in. It crowns the moral ethics of behavior and practice, for it inspires him to do all that is beautiful and prevents him from doing all that is wicked. It is a shield of chastity for the body and of purity for the soul, as private shame concerning one's wickedness stems from being aware that God is watching. The Prophet said:
"Modesty is from the faith, and the faith is in Paradise." (Ahmed)
On the occasion of his marriage in Madinah with Zaynab, the daughter of Jahsh, the Prophet invited the people to his wedding feast. This was a late morning invitation, and most people simply rose and left after eating, as was the custom. The bridegroom, however, remained sitting and some people, perhaps thinking that this was a signal that they, too, should remain with him, stayed behind after the other guests had left. Out of propriety, the Messenger of God did not like to tell the people to go away, so he got up and left the room with his ward, ibn Abbas.
He went as far as the room of Ayesha, another of his wives, before returning back to Zaynab's room, expecting the guests to have taken the hint. However, they were still there, sitting in their places, so he turned away once again and went back to Ayesha's room, still accompanied by his ward.

The second time they returned the people had left, so the Messenger of God went in. Ibn Abbas was going to follow him, but Muhammad took the dividing curtain and drew it across the doorway, blocking the egress.
One of the story's lessons is that a person's home is private and one should be shy of abusing an invitation to it. Moreover, because Muhammad(peace be upon him) was too nice to ask people to leave, his actions provide an example of how to teach a lesson without being offensive. He used a non-verbal means to show the people they should leave and, once his private space was vacated, he used another non-verbal gesture to drive home the fact that the invitation was over.

Moses and Zaphorah
After waiting for a long time in the queue, being only two females among all the males, someone finally helped them, and they were able to take their flock of sheep and goats home. Their father was old, and they had no brother to do their outside chores. Being one of the most onerous of tasks, drawing water from the well in order to water one's livestock was one performed by men; a lucky day for them to come home early with the drove freshly watered. The father was surprised about their early return, and when he inquired into the occurrence, his daughters told him that a man who seemed a traveler had helped them. The father asked one of them to seek the man out and invite him home. Upon returning to the well, the lady approached him shyly. When she was in earshot, she gave him her father's invitation so that he might recompense him for his help. He kept his gaze low to the ground as he replied to her, saying that he had done it for the sake of God alone, and required no compensation. However, realizing that this was God-sent help, he accepted the invitation. As she was walking ahead of him, the wind blew her dress, which revealed part of her lower legs, so he asked her to walk behind him and point out the way he should follow when he reached a fork in the foot path.
Once they arrived at the house, the father presented him with a meal and asked where he was from. The man told him that he was a fugitive from Egypt. The daughter who had brought him home whispered to her father: "O Father, hire him, because the best of the workers is one who is strong and trustworthy."
He asked her: "How do you know he is strong?"

She said: "He lifted the stone lid of the well that cannot be removed except by many together." He asked her: "How do you know that he is trustworthy?"
She said: "He asked me to walk behind him so that he couldn't see me as I walked, and when I conversed with him, he kept his gaze low with shyness and respect."
This was Prophet Moses (may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him) who had run away from Egypt after killing someone by mistake, and the father of the girls was a God-fearing man from the tribes of Midian; a man who was sonless, but had had these two daughters. The verse in the Qur'an that tells us this story stresses upon the manner of her approaching Moses: "So one of the two (daughters) came to him walking modestly..." (Qur'an 28:25)

Both the way Zaphorah approached Moses and his care about not seeing more of her than was needful at the time describe acute senses of propriety. Neither had a chaperone, nor could people see what they did, yet both conducted themselves with the utmost decorum. This was done out of fear of the One who sees everything. The outcome was that when her father proposed to Moses that he marry one of his daughters, Moses considered them a suitable marriage prospect. He and his daughters also saw in him all the virtues a man needs as a mate for a woman to consent to his guidance and nurture through life.

- Courtesy of www.islamreligion.com

Mursi links freedom with ‘responsibility’ in his debut United Nations speech

Mursi links freedom with 'responsibility' in his debut United Nations speech



AP

Thursday 27 September 2012

UNITED NATIONS: Egypt's new President Muhammed Mursi debuts at the United Nations yesterday with a speech that will be closely watched by world leaders for clues about his democratic intentions and plans for lifting his country out of crippling poverty.
Mursi, an Islamist and key figure in the once-banned Muslim Brotherhood, is the first democratically-elected leader of the ancient land at the heart of the Arab world. He was sworn in June 30.

Another Arab leader making his first appearances at the UN General Assembly's annual ministerial meeting after being swept into power by the Arab Spring revolutions was Yemen's President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who took office in February after more than a year of political turmoil and is now trying to steer his country's democratic transition. Hadi called on the UN to grant membership to Palestine and support a transfer of power in Syria.

"The only option for our brothers in Syria is to agree on an initiative ... for peaceful change and transfer of power through ballot boxes," he said.
Mursi previewed his General Assembly remarks in a speech delivered Tuesday at former President Bill Clinton's Global Initiative. Addressing the violence that raged across the Muslim world in response to a video produced in the US that denigrated Islam's Prophet Muhammad, the Egyptian leader said freedom of expression must come with "responsibility." He appeared to have been responding to President Barack Obama's General Assembly speech earlier Tuesday in which the US leader again condemned the video but sternly defended the US Constitution's guarantees of free speech.

At least 51 people were killed in violence that erupted last week in Muslim countries, including the US ambassador to Libya and three other Americans targeted in an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi.
Mursi said the video and the violent reaction to it demanded "reflection." He said freedom of expression must be linked with responsibility, "especially when it comes with serious implications for international peace and stability."
With no sign of an end to the Security Council's paralysis over intervening to end the raging Syrian civil war, Germany's UN Ambassador Peter Wittig said his country chose to focus the council's ministerial session on something new and positive in the Mideast — "the emergence of the Arab League as a regional actor that has proved to be essential for conflict resolution."

Syria: Damascus hit by two explosions

Syria: Damascus hit by two explosions
Two loud explosions targeted one of Syria's top military command buildings in the capital Damascus.

Image 1 of 2
The wreckage of the military administration building that partially collapsed following an explosion in the Syrian capital Damascus Photo: AFP

State media and residents said the explosions struck the General Staff Command Building (Hay'at al Arkan) in the Umayad Square in central Damascus, which is one of the top military headquarters in Syria.


The Free Syrian Army, the main rebel force fighting to overthow Assad, claimed responsibility for the attack which it said killed dozens of people.


But an armed forces statement said military leaders were unhurt and only a number of guards were wounded in the blasts.


The Syrian information minister said the attack had caused "only material damage" and that security forces were chasing "armed terrorists" - a term the authorities use to refer to insurgents waging a violent uprising to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.


Gunfire and other smaller blasts could be heard after the explosions, as well as the sound of ambulance sirens. Many roads in the centre of the capital were blocked, residents said.

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"The explosions were very loud. They shook the whole city and the windows of our house were shuddering," one resident reached by telephone said.

"Black smoke was seen rising from the area near the army staff building," the resident, who declined to be named, said.

A Damascus bomb attack on July 18 killed several top security officials, including Assad's brother-in-law, the defence and interior ministers. That attack paved the way for a rebel advance into the centre of the capital, although they have since been pushed back to the outskirts.

Another resident said: "I was woken up at four minutes to seven by the first loud explosion. Five or six minutes later there was a second."

"We're used to the sound of artillery but these were very big - bigger than usual. I can hear gunfire still," he said, speaking an hour and a half after the blasts.

He said one of the blasts appeared to have been in the area of the General Staff Command.

He said he could see soldiers stationed on the roof of the nearby Air Force Intelligence building.

Syria's conflict, once a peaceful protest movement, has evolved into a civil war that the U.N. special envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, said was "extremely bad and getting worse." He said the stalemate in the country could soon "find an opening", without elaborating.

Even Damascus has become a battleground between Assad's forces and opposition fighters.

Activists say more than 27,000 people have been killed in the 18-month-old uprising against Assad.

With no foreseeable prospect of foreign intervention and diplomacy stuck, outgunned rebels have relied increasingly on attacks with homemade bombs, striving to level the playing field against a state using fighter jets, artillery and tanks.

At the annual UN General Assembly in New York, French President Francois Hollande sought to shake up international inertia over Syria's crisis by calling for UN protection of rebel-held areas to help end Syria's bloodshed and rights.

"The Syrian regime ... has no future among us," Hollande said in a speech. "Without any delay, I call upon the United Nations to provide immediately to the Syrian people all the support it asks of us and to protect liberated zones."

Protection for "liberated" areas would require no-fly zones enforced by foreign aircraft, which could stop deadly air raids by Assad's forces on populated areas. But there is little chance of securing a Security Council mandate for such action given the continuing opposition of veto-wielding members Russia and China.

The United States, European allies, Turkey and Gulf Arab states have sided with the Syrian opposition while Iran, Russia and China have backed Assad, whose family and minority Alawite sect have dominated the major Arab state for 42 years.

But Western powers have shied away from supplying military aid to the rebels to an extent that could turn the tide of the conflict, in part out of fear of arming Islamist militants who have joined the anti-Assad revolt.

Source: Reuters

Syrian death toll now tops 30,000: activist group

Syrian death toll now tops 30,000: activist group

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Analysis & Opinion

Murders in the forest
Can the Middle East survive a post-Western era?

BEIRUT | Wed Sep 26, 2012 11:15am EDT

(Reuters) - At least 30,000 people have died in Syria's 18-month-old uprising, a British-based Syrian monitoring group said on Wednesday, and more than half of the victims counted were killed in the past five months.

The uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, which began in March 2011 as peaceful protests, has descended into civil war since rebels took up arms against a security force crackdown.

Rami Abdulrahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 30,716 people were killed. Most of them - at least 21,534 - were civilians. But his network of activists, who are based around Syria, do not divide their civilian death count between unarmed residents and those who have joined the rebels.

The pro-opposition Observatory said 7,322 soldiers fighting for Assad were killed, while at least 1,860 army defectors died fighting for the opposition.

"By looking through our figures, we noticed that the toll has been rising. Between 50 and 60 percent of those killed died in the past five months," Abdulrahman said.

Syrian authorities have said in the past that more than 2,600 members of the security forces have been killed, but have not given a casualty figure for several months.

Despite the rapidly rising death toll, international powers are stuck in a diplomatic stalemate. Western powers and Gulf Arab states back the opposition, while Russia, China and Iran are backing Assad.

The violence spiked rapidly in recent months as rebel forces spread, taking the fight across the country and into Syria's two major cities, the capital Damascus and business hub Aleppo.

Assad, who says his opponents are "terrorists" backed by foreign powers, has responded with heavy bombardment, including the use of fighter jets and helicopter gunships.

(This story corrects figure in headline)

(Reporting by Erika Solomon; Editing by Stephen Powell)



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Libya's Ansar says it quit Benghazi bases to preserve security

Libya's Ansar says it quit Benghazi bases to preserve security

BENGHAZI, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The Libyan Islamist militia Ansar al-Sharia said on Saturday it had evacuated its bases in Benghazi in the interest of security.

"The commander of the battalion gave orders to members to evacuate their premises and hand them over to the people of Benghazi," said spokesman Yousef al-Jehani. "We respect the views of the people of Benghazi, and to preserve security in the city we evacuated the premises."

The group, which has denied suggestions that it was responsible for an attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi in which the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans were killed, had been the target of a mass protest in the city on Friday night.

Wareysi khaas ah Wasiirka Arrimaha Gudaha Somaliland.

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Protests erupt in Pakistan over anti-Islam film

Latest in Protests Over Anti-Islam Film

Latest in Protests Over Anti-Islam Film



By The Associated Press
September 21, 2012 (AP)

Here's a look at protests and events across the world on Friday connected to an amateurish anti-Muslim film produced in the United States and vulgar caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad published in a French satirical weekly. At least 47 people, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya, have been killed in violence linked to the protests over the film, which has also renewed debate over freedom of expression in the U.S. and in Europe.

———

PAKISTAN

Seventeen people were killed and dozens were injured as tens of thousands protested against the film around the country after the government encouraged peaceful protests and declared a national holiday — "Love for the Prophet Day." Demonstrations turned violent in several Pakistani cities. Among those killed was a driver for a Pakistani television station, who died after police opened fire on rioters torching a cinema in the northwest city of Peshawar during a protest.

Clashes between police and thousands of stone-throwing protesters also occurred in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, the Pakistani capital.

———

AFGHANISTAN

About 900 people have gathered for a protest against the film in the capital, Kabul, chanting "death to America" and burning an effigy of President Barack Obama and an American flag. A few hundred demonstrators also protested inside a mosque in the eastern city of Ghazni. The protests were peaceful.

AP
A Pakistani protestor hurls back a tear gas... View Full Caption

———

IRAN

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed out at the West over the film. Speaking during a military parade in Tehran, he said: "in return for (allowing) the ugliest insults to the divine messenger, they — the West — raise the slogan of respect for freedom of speech." He said this explanation was "clearly a deception."

———

INDONESIA

The United States closed its diplomatic missions across Indonesia due to continuing demonstrations over the anti-Islam film. Small and mostly orderly protests were held outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta and in the cities of Surabaya and Medan, along with a couple other smaller towns. No violence was reported.

In addition to the embassy in Jakarta and consulate offices in Surabaya, Medan and Bali, the American mission to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations also was shut.

———

IRAQ

About 3,000 people, mostly followers of Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim groups, protested against the film and caricatures in the southern city of Basra. Demonstrators carried Iraqi flags and posters of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, chanting "death to America" and "no to America."

They burnt Israeli and American flags. One of the organizers, Qassim al-Moussawi, told AP that people gathered "to express our anger and resentment on the offenses made against our prophet."

———

SRI LANKA

About 2,000 Muslims burned effigies of President Barack Obama and American flags at a protest after Friday prayers in the capital, Colombo, demanding that the United States ban the film.

———

BANGLADESH

Over 2,000 people marched through the streets of the capital, Dhaka, to protest the film. They burned a makeshift coffin draped in an American flag, and an effigy of Obama.



———

LEBANON

Thousands gathered in the Bekaa Valley for the latest in a series of protest rallies organized by the Shiite militant group Hezbollah. Protesters carried the yellow Hezbollah flag.

———

KASHMIR

Police enforced a daylong curfew in parts of Indian-controlled Kashmir's main city, Srinagar, and chased away protesters opposing the anti-Islam film. Authorities in the region also temporarily blocked mobile phone and Internet services to prevent viewing the film clips.

———

GERMANY

Several hundred people gathered in the city of Freiburg in southwest of Germany to protest the film. Some carried banners saying: "The dignity of the Prophet Muhammad is our dignity." Police banned inflammatory slogans.

The Interior Ministry postponed a poster campaign aimed at countering radical Islam among young people due to tensions caused by the online video insulting Islam. Posters for the campaign — in German, Turkish and Arabic — were meant to go on display in German cities with large immigrant populations on Friday, but are being withheld because of the changed security situation. Germany is home to an estimated 4 million Muslims.

———

NORWAY

Crowds gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in the capital Oslo to protest the prophet film shouting "Obama, Obama, we're all Osama."

Some 70 people took part in the hour-long demonstration on Friday afternoon. Police blocked off the street during the peaceful protest.

———

PHILIPPINES

A law professor defied a ban by Philippine university officials and has shown students the film's 14-minute trailer. Constitutional law professor Harry Roque of the University of the Philippines said the film was "trash and nothing but trash" and will not convince people Islam is evil.

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Fresh anti-Islam film protests rock the Muslim world

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19 Reported Dead as Pakistanis Protest Muhammad Video

19 Reported Dead as Pakistanis Protest Muhammad Video

Arshad Arbab/European Pressphoto Agency

Pakistani riot police officers chase a protester in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Friday.
By DECLAN WALSH
Published: September 21, 2012

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Violent crowds furious over an anti-Islamic film made in the United States convulsed several cities acrossPakistan on Friday in a day of state-sanctioned protests, and the nation’s leading television station reported as many as 19 people were killed.


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Spread of Protests Sparked by Anti-Muslim Video

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Times Topic: The 'Innocence of Muslims' Riots (Nakoula Basseley Nakoula)

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Pakistani demonstrators battled with riot police in Islamabad on Friday.


It was the worst single day of deadly violence in one Muslim country over the film, “Innocence of Muslims,” since the protests began nearly two weeks ago in Egypt and later spread to two dozen countries around the world. Protesters have ignored the United States government’s denunciation of the film.

The violence on Friday in Pakistan began with a television station employee dying from gunshot wounds during a protest in the northwestern city of Peshawar, and far bigger protests in the southern port of Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, left between 12 and 14 people dead, Pakistani news media reported. Geo, the leading television station, was reporting 19 deaths by late Friday around the country.

The unrest came as governments and Western institutions in many parts of the Muslim world braced for protests after Friday Prayer — an occasion often associated with demonstrations as worshipers leave mosques. InTunisia, the authorities invoked emergency powers to outlaw all demonstrations, fearing an outpouring of anti-Western protest inspired both by the American-made film and by cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in a French satirical weekly.

American diplomatic posts in India, Indonesia and elsewhere closed for the day. In Bangladesh, several thousand activists from Islamic organizations took over roads in the center of the capital, Dhaka after prayers. They chanted “death to the United States and death to the French” and set on fire a symbolic coffin for President Obama that was draped with the American flag, as well as an effigy of Mr. Obama. They also burned the American and French flags. The protesters threatened to seize the American Embassy on Saturday, but a police order banned any further demonstrations. Separate protests took place outside of Dhaka as well.

European countries took steps to forestall protests among their own Muslim minorities and against their missions abroad. France had already announced the closure on Friday of embassies and other institutions in 20 countries while, in Paris, some Muslim leaders urged their followers to heed a government ban on weekend demonstrations protesting against denigration of the prophet.

Interior Minister Manuel Valls said officials throughout the country had orders to prevent all protests and crack down if the ban was challenged. “There will be strictly no exceptions. Demonstrations will be banned and broken up,” Mr. Valls said.

The German Interior Ministry said it was postponing a poster campaign aimed at countering radical Islam to avoid fueling protests among the country’s four million Muslims, The Associated Press reported.

Businesses in Pakistan closed and streets emptied across the country as the government declared a national holiday, the “Day of Love for the Prophet Muhammad,” to encourage peaceful protests against the controversial film that has ignited protest across the Muslim world for more than a week.

“An attack on the holy prophet is an attack on the core belief of 1.5 billion Muslims. Therefore, this is something that is unacceptable,” said Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in an address to a religious conference Friday morning in Islamabad.

Mr. Ashraf called on the United Nations and international community to formulate a law outlawing hate speech across the world. “Blasphemy of the kind witnessed in this case is nothing short of hate speech, equal to the worst kind of anti-Semitism or other kind of bigotry,” he said.

But the scenes of chaos in some parts of the country as the day progressed suggested that the government had failed to control public anger on the issue.

In Peshawar, where the television employee was killed, protesters attacked and burned two movie theaters, breaking through the windows with sticks and setting fire to posters that featured images of female movie stars.

Television footage showed the police firing in the air to disperse the crowd, and a hospital official said that at least 15 people, including three police officers, were injured.

In Islamabad, where thousands of protesters flooded toward the heavily guarded diplomatic enclave, Express News reported that the police ran out of rubber bullets because of heavy firing.

A television reporter said that when protesters in nearby Rawalpindi ran out of material to burn, they broke into several tire shops along a major road to steal fresh supplies.

The government cut off cellphone coverage in major cities, while the authorities in Islamabad sealed all exits to the city after Friday Prayer, state radio reported. Some Pakistanis were relying on e-mail and social media sites, like Twitter, to communicate.

Expressions of weary anger over the violence were common. “We are not a nation. We are a mob,” said Nadeem F. Paracha, a cultural commentator with Dawn newspaper, on Twitter.

Large shipping containers blocked roads through the center of several cities. Western diplomatic missions were closed for the day.

The State Department spent $70,000 on Urdu-language advertisements that were broadcast on several television channels, dissociating the American government from the inflammatory film.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it had summoned the American chargé d’affaires, Richard Hoagland, asking him to have the anti-Islam film removed from YouTube, which has been entirely blocked in Pakistan for the past several days.


Alan Cowell contributed reporting from Paris and Julfikar Ali Manik from Dhaka, Bangladesh.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/22/world/asia/protests-in-pakistan-over-anti-islam-film.html?_r=0

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Fresh anti-Islam film protests in Muslim countries

 Fresh anti-Islam film protests in Muslim countries



The BBC's Aleem Maqbool says clashes have broken out across parts of Pakistan but central Islamabad remains calm

Anti-Islam film protests
Q&A: Anti-Islam film
Viewpoints
Protests explained
Diplomat danger

Fresh protests are under way in Muslim countries against an anti-Islam film made in the US.

In Pakistan, a government-declared "special day of love" for the Prophet Muhammad has seen violent clashes and at least one death in the northern city of Peshawar, and clashes elsewhere.

The US has paid for adverts on Pakistani TV that show President Barack Obama condemning the film.
There has been widespread unrest over the amateur film, Innocence of Muslims.

The protests have already claimed several lives around the world.


Although the US has borne the brunt of protests, anti-Western sentiment has been stoked further by caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad published in a satirical French magazine.

In Peshawar, protesters attacked and ransacked two cinema buildings. A driver for a Pakistani TV station was killed when police opened fire to disperse protesters, seven of whom were reported wounded.

Clashes between police and protesters are also being reported from the cities of Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi.

Analysis

M Ilyas KhanBBC News, Islamabad


Protesters in north-west Pakistan are continuing to show their violent side - setting everything that appears inflammable on fire.


There is considerable pent-up anger among Pakistanis over failing civic services and a poor economy. Blasphemy and anti-American feelings provide an added trigger.


There is also the question of who is organising these protests. Mainstream religious groups with electoral interests seek to hold peaceful rallies because their main aim is to galvanise voter support in coming elections.


But there are other groups who have no electoral prospects but have considerable street power and they have been using this to expand their influence. They have an interest in destabilising the government or outshining rival groups.


In the capital Islamabad, which saw fierce clashes between protesters and security forces on Thursday, the BBC's Aleem Maqbool says security forces have attempted to seal off large parts of the city to demonstrations - but that protesters on foot and motocycles have breached a blockade after setting a checkpost alight.


Dozens of protests against the film had already been held across Pakistan over the past week - killing at least two people - but Thursday was the first time violence had erupted in the capital.


All major political parties and religious organisations have announced protests for Friday, along with trade and transport groups.


The Pakistani authorities have urged people to demonstrate peacefully, with mobile phone services cut across the country to reduce security risks.


Meanwhile, the US charge d'affaires Richard Hoagland was summoned to the Pakistani Foreign Office and an official protest was lodged with him. He is reported to have responded that the US government had nothing to do with the film.


The US state department has issued a warning against any non-essential travel to Pakistan.

Embassies closed


France has closed its embassies and other official offices in about 20 countries across the Muslim world on Friday after French magazine Charlie Hebdo published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, including two drawings showing him naked.


French Muslim leaders condemned the magazine and said an appeal for calm would be read in mosques across the country on Friday.


Charlie Hebdo sold out on Wednesday but is publishing another 70,000 copies, to coincide with Friday prayers.




Video courtesy of the US embassy in Pakistan

In Tunisia - where France is the former colonial power - the government has banned Friday protests.

Calls to protest against the caricatures have turned up in Tunisian social media. Interior Minister Ali Larayedh said it was believed that some groups were planning violent protests after Friday prayers.


There are also fears of violence in the Libyan city of Benghazi after rival groups said they would take to the streets.


One group intends to denounce extremism and urge militias to disband, following an attack on the US consulate in the city on 11 September that killed the US ambassador and three other American officials.


Throughout the week, Benghazi residents have left wreaths and placards condemning the attack outside the US mission.


Meanwhile, Ansar al-Sharia, the jihadist militia blamed by some local people for the attack, called for protests "in defence of the Prophet Muhammad". Both protests are scheduled for the same time.


In the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, more than 2,000 people protested peacefully in front of the US embassy.


Some protesters were holding signs insisting that insulting religion was not freedom of speech.


In Cairo, where the protests against the film began, Egyptian security forces are patrolling the streets around the US embassy.


Radical Islamists have clashed with security forces there in recent days, although President Mohammed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood has stayed away from the unrest, only condemning the film and calling for peaceful demonstrations.


The low-budget film that sparked the controversy was made in the US and is said to insult the Prophet Muhammad.


Its exact origins are unclear and the alleged producer for the trailer of the film, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, is in hiding.


Anti-US sentiment grew after a trailer for the film dubbed into Arabic was released on YouTube earlier this month.

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Islam overtakes Catholicism as world's largest religion Mohamed is the Greatest of humanity and Jesus is Muslim

Metro police charge Muslim woman with attempted terrorism.

"I'm Only Human" - Imam Siraj Wahhaj

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Vibrant Muslim community in Hawaii

Vibrant Muslim community in Hawaii




Muslims offering prayer in a mosque in Hawaii.

ABU TARIQ HIJAZI

Hawaii is the dreamland for holidaymakers. Annually thousands of tourists spend their winter in the comfortable climate of Hawaii which is like an earthen pot lying in the heart of Pacific Ocean. It is 2,300 miles from the US coast and 3,400 miles from the Asian coast of Japan.
In 1820 the first American missionaries came to preach Christianity and teach the Hawaiians Western ways. They succeeded converting many natives to Christianity. Now, there are thousands of Muslims living in Hawaii.
Muslims in Hawaii are like a rainbow presenting various colors in one arch. Muslims from the Uighurs of China to the Touareq of Mauritania, to the Aloha people of Hawaii, all merged into one community. Islam transcends the superficial boundaries of nationality. This is demonstrated in Haj every year where an Indonesian Muslim prays next to the British, American, Spanish, Iranian, and South African Muslims. Muslim men and women of different backgrounds, races and cultures pray next to each other in peace throughout the year facing the Holy Kaaba in Makkah.
A group of non-Muslim visitors recorded their observation during a Friday visit to the Hawaii mosque, they said: "The mood was light as men and women gathered outside, lining the edges of a rug to hear a Moroccan immigrant and his Oahu-born wife, Janine, repeat vows of Nikah. 'Islamic marriage is to be a comfort for the couple. ... You should be the source of mercy for each other,' the imam told them."
The small crowd that day represented the multinational Muslim community in Hawaii - from Pakistani and Arab professionals to American-born converts and recent immigrants from Palestine and Iraq. The mosque serves as a social center for all of them. About 200 men attend the Friday prayers. There were nearly 700 people at the Eid prayers.
Muslims of Hawaii form a vibrant society. The mosque arranges various program for Muslims and awareness programs for non-Muslims. The following are some of the programs organized by the mosque:
Imam holds classes twice a week between Maghrib and Isha prayers in the mosque. On Saturday nights after Isha prayers, Imam Ismail gives lecture about the lives of different prophets.
Women's classes are held on Monday and Wednesday nights.
A welcome house is being planned at the mosque that will be open to the public and will distribute Islamic books and DVDs free of charge to Muslim and non-Muslims visitors.
There are facilities for the memorization of the Holy Qur'an.
The Muslim Association of Hawaii (MAH) supervises and integrates Muslim activities in Hawaii. The current president of MAH, Hakim Ouansafi is from Morocco. He was 21 when he came to America to attend college in Rhode Island, where he met and married Vermonter (who later converted to Islam) and become an American citizen. Nine years ago he came to Hawaii. Now 42, he is the president and CEO of Diamond Hotels and Resorts.
Less than three weeks from 9/11 Heather Ramaha, a navy petty officer stood among a group of women at the mosque in Manoa Hawaii and recited the Islamic Shahada in Arabic, and entered the fold of Islam. Ouansafi, MAH president, said that prior to Sept. 11, there had been an average of three converts per month. In the two months since then, there have been 23.
Most converts are African-Americans, who make up about a third of US Muslims, some of whom found the guidance while they were in jail or while recovering from drug or alcohol addiction. On the West Coast, the men are mainly military, said Ouansafi, and most of the O'ahu converts are former Christians. One is even a single cosmetics saleswoman. "We believe, as Muslims, that once a person reverts to Islam, all his past sins are forgiven by God," Ouansafi said. "He or she starts just like a baby born."
Now, Ramaha is incorporating her Islamic faith into her life as a navy officer stationed at Pearl Harbor since July. Ramaha said she struggled with the Christian view of the Holy Trinity. In March, she took an online world religions class through a California university. "I'd been a Christian for 18 years." As a follow-up, she took an introductory class on Islam in Hawaii. She started reading the Qur'an, and "something clicked." She converted soon after. "I've always felt drawn to something out there, otherwise, there's an emptiness," she said. "The only way I feel complete is when I have a religion, a God to pray to."
Hawaii's state Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill in May 2009 to celebrate "Islam Day on Sept. 24 every year." The bill seeks to recognize "the rich religious, scientific, cultural and artistic contributions" that Islam and the Islamic world have made. The date of Sept. 24 was selected as the Prophet Muhammad's (may peace and mercy on him) arrival at Madinah in the first year of Hijrah.
Sen. Will Espero, a Democrat, said: "It does not call for any spending or organized celebration of Islam Day. We are a state of tolerance. We understand that people have different beliefs. We may not all agree on every single item and issue out there, but to say and highlight the negativity of the Islamic people is an insult to the majority of believers who are good law-abiding citizens of the world."
A center for Islamic art and culture:
Shangri La stands for a beautiful and rich collection of Islamic art from the Muslim world. Its founder Madam Doris Duke was one of the richest ladies of the world. She was born in 1912 to Mr. Duke, a baron of tobacco business. On her honeymoon in 1935 she visited many Muslim countries in the Middle East and later stayed at her seasonal home in Hawaii for long. She was much impressed and captivated by the Islamic art. She collected thousands of artifacts and designed her Hawaii home in a museum form. Architectural design was influenced by the objects collected and the objects to be collected were assessed for their potential place within the built environment. From her first foray into collecting while traveling in the Islamic world until her death in 1993, Duke's pattern of collecting for design remained remarkably consistent, yet it also matured.
For nearly 60 years, Doris Duke commissioned and collected artifacts for Shangri La, ultimately forming a collection of about 3,500 objects, the majority of which were made in the Islamic world. Massive painted ceilings, elaborately carved doorways, intricate mosaic tile panels, colorful textiles and numerous other art forms enliven the interiors and create an environment rich in texture and pattern.
Today, Shangri La serves as a center for Islamic arts and cultures. It is owned and supported by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art (DDFIA), which Doris Duke created in her will to promote the study, understanding, and preservation of Islamic art and culture.
Praying toward the north:
The direction of Qibla in Hawaii lies in the north through North Pole. The writer visited Hawaii twice. Once in Ramadan, he was invited by an Afghan family for iftar. Wherever Muslims live, they have strong bond of brotherhood. There is no inhabited land on the earth, where Allah-o-Akbar is not declared from the minarets of a mosque.

UN-ARAB LEAGUE ENVOY VISITS SYRIAN REFUGEES IN TURKEY, JORDAN

UN-ARAB LEAGUE ENVOY VISITS SYRIAN REFUGEES IN TURKEY, JORDAN
New York, Sep 18 2012  4:10PM
The Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and the League of Arab States on the Syrian crisis, Lakhdar Brahimi, on Tuesday visited refugee camps in Turkey and Jordan, where he gained first-hand accounts of the struggles facing those who fled the conflict in their homeland.

The envoy went to the Altinoz camp in Turkey's Hatay Province and the Za'atari camp in Jordan. He was briefed in both places by UN agencies and government officials on conditions in the camps.

"Mr. Brahimi met Syrian refugees and listened to first-hand accounts of their ordeals," UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky told reporters in New York. "He was deeply moved by what he saw and heard and promised to convey an accurate picture of their plight to all those whom he will meet at the United Nations in New York, where he will be next week."

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 260,000 Syrian refugees have been registered in neighbouring countries since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011. They are part of an estimated 2.5 million Syrians in urgent need of humanitarian assistance as a result of the escalating crisis.

The visits to the camps in Turkey and Jordan follow a meeting in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Saturday between Mr. Brahimi and Mr. al-Assad on the crisis, which the envoy said was getting worse and has serious consequences on the Syrian people, the region and the entire world.

"This crisis is becoming worse by the day," Mr. Brahimi told reporters after the meeting, adding that it is urgent to address it in a proper manner.

More than 18,000 people, mostly civilians, have died since the uprising in Syria began 18 months ago. Mr. Brahimi assumed the peace-facilitation role earlier this month, with the aim of bringing an end to all violence and human rights violations in Syria, and promoting a peaceful solution to the conflict.
Sep 18 2012  4:10PM
________________

AT ANNUAL PRAYER SERVICE, BAN URGES HOPE AMID GLOBAL HARDSHIPS AND UNCERTAINTY

AT ANNUAL PRAYER SERVICE, BAN URGES HOPE AMID GLOBAL HARDSHIPS AND UNCERTAINTY
New York, Sep 18 2012 11:10AM
The values that unite humanity are coming under increasing strain, the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned, while arguing that a better world was within reach if people are willing to work, dream and pray for it together.

In his remarks last night to the service held at the Church of the Holy Family in New York City to mark the opening of the sixty-seventh General Assembly, Mr. Ban conceded that the tenets of peace, human rights and development are being tested by ongoing worldwide political and social tumult.

"Conflict continues to claim the lives of innocents from Syria to Central Africa to Afghanistan. In all regions, communities are facing economic hardship and political uncertainty," he said, noting that both global unemployment and intolerance are also on the rise.

"Perhaps it is easy for some to despair at these tests," he continued. "But I am a believer. I believe we can rise to the challenge. And I know you believe that, too."

Mr. Ban told those gathered about a recent day trip which took him first to the mass graves of Srebrenica and then on to London for the opening ceremony of the Olympics – a startling juxtaposition which, he said, showed him "the world as it was, and too often still is and the world as we know it can be."

"I resolved that the road from Srebrenica must take us to a world that is more civilized, more accountable, and more humane," Mr. Ban added, stating that despite current events and widespread conflict, a better world was nonetheless attainable.

"I believe it is out there for all the people of this Earth to grasp if we labour and dream and pray for it together."

The Assembly's sixty-seventh session opens today and will be presided over by the incoming President, Vuk Jeremic of Serbia.
Sep 18 2012 11:10AM
_

TAWAKKUL OF A PERSON WHO WORKS

TAWAKKUL OF A PERSON WHO WORKS

Imam-i Ghazali says in his book Kimya-i Sa'adat:

    The tawakkul of a person who works is not to depend on his capital. And its symptom is that when he loses his capital his heart does not feel worried, or give up hope of his sustenance. For, a person who relies on Allahu ta'ala knows that He will send his sustenance from places he does not expect at all. If He does not send him sustenance, he will think that this is better for him.

    It is not easy to acquire such tawakkul [1]. All your property has been stolen, or you have undergone a great catastrophe, and your heart still does not change; this is not something everybody can do. Those who have such tawakkul are very few, but they are not nonexistent. Attaining such tawakkul requires the heart's complete and positive belief in the endlessness of Allah's blessing, compassion and favouring, and in that His power is in the greatest perfection. One must think that He sends sustenance to many people though they do not have any capital, while, on the other hand, many fortunes cause perdition. One must as well know that it is good for oneself if one loses one's own capital.

    Rasulullah 'sallallahu alaihi wa sallam' stated, "A person spends the night thinking of the thing he is going to do the next day. But that thing will bring calamity upon him. Allahu ta'ala, pitying this slave of His, does not let him do it. And he, in his turn, becomes sorry because he is not able to do it. Thinking, 'Why hasn't this business of mine been accomplished? Who doesn't let me do it? Who on earth is imposing this enmity upon me?' and he begins to think ill of his friends. However, Allahu ta'ala, having mercy upon him, has protected him against calamity. " For this reason Hadrat [2] 'Umar 'radiyallahu anh' said, "If I become poor, needy tomorrow, I will never feel sorry. I will never think of getting rich, for I do not know which is better for me. "
________________________________
GLOSSARY
[1] tawakkul: trusting in, expecting everything from Allahu ta'ala exclusively; expecting from Allahu ta'ala the effectiveness of the cause after working or holding on to the cause – before which tawakkul is unadvised. See Endless Bliss III, 35.
[2] Hadrat: title of respect used before the names of great people like and Islamic scholars.


He who does not have mercy on people is not treated with mercy by Allahu ta'ala.
Hadith-i sharif


'One should carefully choose whom to love, and share the love accordingly'

'What is important is whom you are with, not who you are.'

'Kalam-i kibar, kibar-i kalamast.'
(The words of the superiors are the superior words.)

www.serenityfountain.org

JOINT UN-ARAB LEAGUE ENVOY AND SYRIAN PRESIDENT DISCUSS WORSENING CRISIS

JOINT UN-ARAB LEAGUE ENVOY AND SYRIAN PRESIDENT DISCUSS WORSENING CRISIS

The Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and the League of Arab States on the Syrian crisis, Lakhdar Brahimi, discussed the ongoing violence and worsening humanitarian situation with President Bashar al-Assad during a meeting in Damascus on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr. Brahimi said the crisis is getting worse and has serious consequences on the Syrian people, the region and the entire world.

"We discussed this issue. I believe that the President is more aware than me of the scope and seriousness of this crisis," said the envoy, who arrived earlier this week for meetings with representatives of the Government, the opposition and civil society.

"I informed the President that we, in the name of the United Nations and the League of Arab States, will exert every effort, present ideas and mobilize capacities and potentials required for this situ
ation in order to best help the Syrian people out of this crisis."

More than 18,000 people, mostly civilians, have died since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began 18 months ago. Amidst reports of an escalation in violence in recent weeks in many towns and villages, as well as the country's two biggest cities, Damascus and Aleppo, UN agencies now estimate that some 2.5 million Syrians are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

"This crisis is becoming worse by the day," stated Mr. Brahimi, adding that it is urgent to address it in a proper manner.

Following his visit to Syria, Mr. Brahimi will go to New York to meet with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council, "as well as a number of States which have influence, interests, or both, with regard to the Syrian issue," he said.

Mr. Brahimi earlier this month assumed the peace-facilitation role which had been carried out since February by a former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, with the aim of brin
ging an end to all violence and human rights violations in Syria, and promoting a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Four Nato troops killed by 'Afghan police'-bbc

Four Nato troops killed by 'Afghan police'-bbc

Taliban Conflict
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Four soldiers with the Nato-led force in Afghanistan have been killed in an attack thought to have been carried out by Afghan police members, Nato says.

The "insider attack" took place in the south of the country and one of the attackers was reportedly killed.

The latest incident comes a day after two UK soldiers were killed at a checkpoint by a man in police uniform.

On Friday, two US marines were killed in a Taliban attack on Nato's Camp Bastion base in southern Afghanistan.

Militants breached the perimeter of the sprawling Camp Bastion base in Helmand province, destroying six aircraft.

The Taliban told the BBC that they carried out Friday's attack in revenge for a film mocking Islam which has triggered protests around the Muslim world.

More than 50 soldiers with the Nato-led force have been killed so far this year in so-called insider - or green-on-blue - attacks.


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Why We Love Muhammad ﷺ ᴴᴰ | INNOCENCE OF MUSLIMS RESPONSE | HD

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Al Qaida calls for more attacks

Al Qaida calls for more attacks

(UKPA) –

Al Qaida's most active branch in the Middle East has called for more attacks on US embassies to "set the fires blazing", seeking to use the outrage over an anti-Muslim film which sparked a wave of protests that swept 20 countries.

Senior Muslim religious authorities issued their strongest pleas yet against resorting to violence, trying to defuse Muslim anger over the film, a day after new attacks on US and Western embassies that left at least eight protesters dead.

The top cleric in US ally Saudi Arabia, Grand Mufti Sheik Abdel-Aziz al-Sheik, condemned the film but, urging Muslims not to be "dragged by anger" into violence, said it could not really hurt Islam.

Sheik Ahmed al-Tayeb, head of the Sunni Muslim world's pre-eminent religious institution, Egypt's Al-Azhar, backed peaceful protests but said Muslims should counter the film by reviving Islam's moderate ideas.

In the Egyptian capital Cairo, where the first protests against the film that denigrates the Prophet Muhammad erupted, police finally succeeded in clearing away protesters who had clashed with security forces for days near the US embassy. Police arrested 220 people and a concrete wall was erected across the road leading to the embassy.

No significant protests were reported in the Middle East on Saturday; the only report of violence linked to the film came from Australia, where riot police clashed with about 200 protesters at the US consulate in Sydney.

In his weekly radio and internet address, US president Barack Obama paid tribute to the four Americans, including ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens, who were killed in an armed attack on the US consulate in Benghazi this week. "I have made it clear that the United States has a profound respect for people of all faiths. We stand for religious freedom. And we reject the denigration of religion - including Islam," Mr Obama said. "Yet there is never any justification for violence. There is no religion that condones the targeting of innocent men and women."

But the Yemen-based al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, considered the most dangerous of the terror network's branches to the US, called the killing of Mr Stevens "the best example" for those attacking embassies to follow. "What has happened is a great event, and these efforts should come together in one goal, which is to expel the embassies of America from the lands of the Muslims," the group said.

It called on protests to continue in Muslim nations "to set the fires blazing at these embassies". It also called on "our Muslim brothers in Western nations to fulfil their duties in supporting God's prophet ... because they are the most capable of reaching them and vexing them".

So far there has been no evidence of a direct role by al Qaida in the protests.

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