Kolkata: The schools are Jewish, its students Muslim

Islamic World News

03 Oct 2009, NewAgeIslam.Com

Kolkata: The schools are Jewish, its students Muslim

The schools are Jewish, its students Muslim by Subhro Niyogi, Be patriotic or quit India: Maulana Kalbe Sadiq by Abid Suhail Jamaat-e-Islami condemns 'Shastra Poojan' on Dusshera German publisher drops novel over fears of Muslim backlash Author Karen Armstrong says terrorists have hijacked Islamic faith By JIM JONES Islamic Bank of Britain offers 4.5% on savings by Richard Kilner Pak nurtures Taliban, LeT fearing India's rise in Afghanistan' Militant Group Is Intact After Mumbai Siege by LYDIA POLGREEN and SOUAD MEKHENNET No Credible Evidence' of Iranian Nuclear Weapons, says UN Inspector by Julian Borger and Richard Norton-Taylor Top Somali Islamist gunned down in central town Daily brief: Pakistani military operation against Taliban stronghold looms NOW AL-SHABAAB GRABS KISMAYU AFTER OVERPOWERING HISBUL-ISLAM by Kanini Evans Kariuki Ahmadinejad: West media 'weapon of subterfuge' Ahmadinejad calls for Israel war-crimes trial Somalia: Hizbul Islam official assassinated in Beletwein The First International Islamic Retreat in the Caribbean (intro) Muhyiddin: PAS Does Not Reflect Islamic Culture When Supporters Resort To Violence Militant: 3 aid workers freed in Somalia Compiled by Syed Asadullah URL: http://newageislam.net/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1842 ----                          The schools are Jewish, its students Muslim Subhro Niyogi, 3 October 2009 Attired in a modest salwar-kameez , hijab firmly in place, Shaista Fatima leaves her home in Kolkata's Rippon Street and heads for school. Friends Farida and Shehnaz Jahan join her on the way and the three demurely make their way through the conservative Muslim neighbourhood. But once they hit Royd Street, their gait acquires a quick confidence. Once inside Jewish Girls School, they slip off both hijab and salwarkameez and slip on the skirt-and-blouse uniform just in time for assembly. The idea of Muslim students in a Jewish school may be blasphemous anywhere else on the planet, but here in Kolkata, it's a reality. In fact, doors to the two Jewish schools in the city were opened to other communities, including Muslims, around the same time that Israel was carved out of Palestine six decades ago, triggering a bloody conflict that still rages today. It's a study in contrast really. Palestinian mothers let their children join the uprising or intifada against Israeli occupation even as Muslim mothers in Kolkata send their wards to schools run by Jews. The former is about death - it's an honour if the child kills a Jew and brings martyrdom if he is killed in the attempt. The latter is about the hope of a better future. For most middle-class Muslims in Kolkata, getting their children into a good English medium school is a dream. "Either the fees are too high or kids are refused admission because the parents aren't educated enough," says M H Iqbal, whose daughters Zeb and Uzma go to the Jewish Girls School. "The two Jewish schools, on the other hand, are affordable and encourage children from humble backgrounds. For people like me, it means a decent education for my daughters that will open up a world of opportunity." That the school is run by Jews, sworn enemies of Muslims in other parts of the world, doesn't bother him or the other Muslim parents whose children study at the Jewish Girls School in Park Street or Elias Mayer Free School & Talmud Torah in Bowbazar. Together, they have around 2,000 students. Given that the two schools are located in neighbourhoods with large Muslim populations, it is not unremarkable that two in every three students are from the community. Since most of Kolkata's Jews have emigrated to Israel, the UK, the US or Australia, the schools have had no Jewish students in 20 years. The school, though, still retains some Jewish traditions. It is closed on all major Jewish holidays such as Passover and does not function on Saturdays, the day of Sabbath. Though teachings in Hebrew have stopped, students are taught traditional dances and Hebrew songs. "Many Israelis visit to discover their roots as their grandparents have studied here," says Aline M Cohen, vice-president of Jewish Girls School and committee member of Elias Meyer. "When they see Muslim boys and girls present programmes in Hebrew, they are amazed." Shakil Ahmed, whose daughter Shaima is in class X, chose Jewish Girls over the Muslim Saifee Hall. "You try to give the best to your children. Why deny them good education on religious grounds?" reasons Ahmed, a devout Muslim who never goes out without his skull cap. The women in his household wear purdah but he has no problem with his daughter wearing shorts to the playground or singing Vande Mataram at assembly. "The school has its rules and parents respect them," he says. The camaraderie between the communities flourishes beyond the school compound. "In the 26/11 Mumbai attack, six Jews, including a Rabbi, were killed by Islamic extremists. But Kolkata remained an oasis of peace,'' says Cohen. And the schools a beacon of inter-faith cooperation. Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-5083769,prtpage-1.cms ----- Be patriotic or quit India: Maulana Kalbe Sadiq Abid Suhail, TNN 27 September 2009   Shia cleric Kalbe Sadiq has asked the countrymen to either love India or leave India. Addressing a press conference, he advised those not loving the country to better quit it. Raising another pertinent issue, he asked the political leaders of the country to decide their priorities - whether they want mandirs, masjids and churches or houses for God's creatures. He said he would prefer houses for people rather than for God. He said that despite great strides made by the country since Independence, every fourth Indian has to face hunger and half of the world's sixty crore people living below poverty line are Indians (Aag 21/9). Secular alternative: Saeed Suharwardy, in middle in Rashtriya Sahara (24/9), asserts that the political commentators who had buried the BJP after the Jaswant episode must not be happy with the by-election results. In fact, they do not know that while the Congress is strong at the top, the BJP is burly at the ground level. The BJP's constituency votes for it even if it is angry with the party's leaders, whereas the Congress vote drifts even if the party's popularity graph slides marginally. With no secular alternative available to the Congress, the voters are compelled to vote either for it or BJP. The two parties themselves do not want any third alternative to emerge. This is the situation in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka, where both the parties are tinged in the same hue and shade to attract the majority community votes, while regions where Telugu Desam, Dravid parties and the Communists are strong, the BJP is not able to make any headway. Lamenting the absence of any secular alternative to the Congress, the columnist does not hold the BJP as solely responsible for the situation, but blames the leaders who have their personal interests dearer to their heart than secularism. Jayaprakash Narayan and then NT Rama Rao, says the columnist, tried to bring the anti-Congress secular parties on one platform, but there is none of that stature any more. Monograph: The Sahitya Akademi has done itself proud by publishing the monograph of Majaz, one of the most popular progressive poets of his time. He passed away in 1955 when only 44. The monograph has been done by Sharib Rudaulvi who was quite close to him as a student of Lucknow University. Amiruddaula Library: The British India Association's library which was rechristened as Amiruddaula Public Library way back in 1925, is a treasure house of rare and precious books. The library is the proud owner of the beautifully written Quran by Aurangzeb, Akbar's Aaeen-e-Akbari in three volumes and the textile designing samples of 1873. Beside, it has many rare books of Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, Pali etc (Qaumi Khabren 23/9). Mahmood Hashmi: A protagonist of modernity in literature, Mahmood Hashmi, passed away on Tuesday past in a Delhi hospital. He had been associated with AIR for long and had for some years edited well known journal, Shabkhoon. The National Council for Promotion of Urdu and a number of literary organisations have paid glowing tributes to Hashmi's memory. (Sahafat 24/9) Saeed Aslam: The Islamic Centre of India, Sunni Youth Federation, Sunni Board of India and many other organisations have mourned the death of Saeed Aslam Rizvi, a philanthropist, on Friday last. Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/ allahabad/Be-patriotic-or-quit-India/articleshow/5062864.cms ---- Jamaat-e-Islami condemns 'Shastra Poojan' on Dusshera Oct 02, 2009 Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh unit of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has condemned the 'Shastra Poojan' (worship of weapons) by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and some academic institutions in the state on Dusshera. Jamaat spokesmen, Anwar Safi in a statement, said that this was not the first time when the BJP government was promoting the agenda of the RSS. Anwar said the state government had already created controversies by introducing Surya Namaskar, Vande Mataram and 'Bhojan Mantras' in schools since it came to power. He said that while the RSS had claimed all these practices as religious, Education minister Archana Chitnis maintained that it was a social tradition. A vast Hindu population disliked the RSS-BJP agenda as it "disturbs" social fabric, he claimed. Chouhan had performed a 'Shastra Poojan' on September 28, on the occasion of Dusshera, in the CM house. A couple of educational institutions, including RSS-run Saraswati Shishu Mandir, too performed a similar pooja on their premises. Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/524298/ ---- German publisher drops novel over fears of Muslim backlash 03 Oct 2009 Dusseldorf - A German publisher has cancelled plans to publish a mass-market novel out of fears that it might face violent protests due to a rude reference to the Koran, Der Spiegel magazine reported Saturday. The crime novel - about the "honour killing" of a Muslim woman - had been scheduled for September publication, but the Droste publishing company of Dusseldorf decided not to print it after all, the magazine said in a story to appear in its Monday issue. It said the publisher had first asked the author, Gabriele Brinkmann, writing under the pen name WW Domsky, to tone down dialogue in "To Those Worthy of Honour" which might be construed as offensive, but she had refused. Spiegel reported that the offensive phrase in question was a character saying: "You can shove your Koran up ..." Publisher Felix Droste had asked an expert on Islamic society to study whether the crime story's text could compromise the safety of his firm or his family, and the expert suggested the phrase be modified. But the author refused to alter it to "You can shove your honour up ..." Droste wrote back that riots over Danish cartoons that poked fun at the Prophet Mohammed in 2005 showed that anyone publishing insults to Islam was putting their safety at risk, Spiegel said. Source: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/ 288501,german-publisher-drops-novel-over-fears-of-muslim-backlash.html ---- Author Karen Armstrong says terrorists have hijacked Islamic faith Oct. 02, 2009 By JIM JONES People who plant bombs and blow up innocent people in the name of Islam are not true Muslims, a leading author on world religions says. "The Muslim faith is being hijacked," said Karen Armstrong, who will speak twice next week in Fort Worth. "The true picture of Islam as a religion seeking God isn't getting over to the public, especially in Western nations. All we hear about in the news media is the wretched [Muslim] terrorists." Armstrong wrote The History of God and other bestselling books on world religion. Her latest, The Case for God, challenges recent books on atheism. She has also written a history of Islam and a biography of Buddha. During a recent phone interview, Armstrong declared that the 9-11 terrorists and others who have followed them have abandoned Islam's true tenets. "This terrorism is politically inspired, not religiously inspired," she said. Many Muslims worldwide deplore violence, she said. She pointed to a recent Gallup Poll that took five years to complete in 35 Muslim nations. The survey found that 93 percent of Muslims answered no when asked whether the 9-11 attacks were justified, giving religious reasons for their views. "The Quran states that taking even one innocent life is like destroying the whole world," Armstrong said. The same poll, however, indicated many Muslims think people in the United States disrespect their faith. Full Article at: http://www.star-telegram.com/metro_news/story/1657134.html ---- Islamic Bank of Britain offers 4.5% on savings by Richard Kilner The Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB) has stated that its new Fixed-Term Deposit Account will have an impressive target profit rate of 4.5%, beating rates offered by the average high street bank in the UK. Customers opting for the 24 month Fixed-Term Deposit Account will enjoy 4.5% per annum (gross), and those preferring an 18 month period will earn 4% gross per annum. Customers will be offered the choice of receiving the profit every three months or having it invested in the account and receiving both the deposit and profit upon maturity. The money added is not interest, but based on the principle of Wakala (Agency Agreement) which sees the cash invested in Sharia'a compliant and ethical trading activities, which are monitored daily to minimise risk. The minimum deposit is £5,000, and this cannot be added to or withdrawn before maturity occurs. Commercial Director Sultan Choudhury has stated that the new product offers a combination of competitive rates and an ethical approach to investment. Earlier in the year, the IBB was named as the Best Islamic Financial Institution in the UK by Global Finance magazine, in recognition of its predominant position within the country's Islamic banking sector. Source: http://www.bankingtimes.co.uk/ 02102009-islamic-bank-of-britain-offers-4-5-on-savings/ ---- Pak nurtures Taliban, LeT fearing India's rise in Afghanistan' Oct 02, 2009 Washington: Pakistan believes Afghanistan is developing into an Indian garrison and has been nurturing groups like the Taliban and LeT over the years to counter it, a key US Senate Committee was told.   "I am not making any accusations against any given country in the region. All of them are looking out for their vital interests. But India is becoming involved in Afghanistan to an extent that the Pakistanis consider Afghanistan as developing into an Indian garrison," Milt Bearden, ex-CIA Station Chief in Islamabad, told Senators during a hearing. "This is not hysteria. This is a real concern," he said in his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during the hearing on 'Afghanistan's Impact on Pakistan.' He also noted that China has its own interest in the region and has taken a 25 per cent share of a huge copper operation in Afghanistan. "They're building a major port in Pakistan at Gwadar," he added. "Meanwhile, the Indians, working with the Iranians, are doing the same thing across - in Iran on the Arabian Sea, building a major port. You have China getting a naval anchor on the Arabian Sea in Pakistan, India and Iran doing exactly the same thing across the border," Bearden said. Full Article at: http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/524234/ ---- Militant Group Is Intact After Mumbai Siege By LYDIA POLGREEN and SOUAD MEKHENNET, September 30, 2009 KARACHI, Pakistan — Ten months after the devastating attacks in Mumbai by Pakistan-based militants, the group behind the assault remains largely intact and determined to strike India again, according to current and former members of the group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and intelligence officials.   Despite pledges from Pakistan to dismantle militant groups operating on its soil, and the arrest of a handful of operatives, Lashkar has persisted, even flourished, since 10 recruits killed 163 people in a rampage through Mumbai, India's financial capital, last November. Indian and Pakistani dossiers on the Mumbai investigations, copies of which were obtained by The New York Times, offer a detailed picture of the operations of a Lashkar network that spans Pakistan. It included four houses and two training camps here in this sprawling southern port city that were used to prepare the attacks. Among the organizers, the Pakistani document says, was Hammad Amin Sadiq, a homeopathic pharmacist, who arranged bank accounts and secured supplies. He and six others begin their formal trial on Saturday in Pakistan, though Indian authorities say the prosecution stops well short of top Lashkar leaders. Indeed, Lashkar's broader network endures, and can be mobilized quickly for elaborate attacks with relatively few resources, according to a dozen current and former Lashkar militants and intelligence officials from the United States, Europe, India and Pakistan. In interviews with The Times, they presented a troubling portrait of Lashkar's capabilities, its popularity in Pakistan and the support it has received from former officials of Pakistan's military and intelligence establishment. Pakistan's chief spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, or ISI, helped create Lashkar two decades ago to challenge Indian control in Kashmir, the disputed territory that lies at the heart of the conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors. Pakistani officials say that after Sept. 11, 2001, they broke their contacts with the group. No credible evidence has emerged of Pakistani government involvement in the Mumbai attacks, according to an American law enforcement official. But a senior American intelligence official said the ISI was believed to maintain ties with Lashkar. Four Lashkar members, interviewed individually, said only a thin distance separated Lashkar and the ISI, bridged by former ISI and military officials. One highly placed Lashkar militant said the Mumbai attackers were part of groups trained by former Pakistani military and intelligence officials at Lashkar camps. Others had direct knowledge that retired army and ISI officials trained Lashkar recruits as late as last year. "Some people of the ISI knew about the plan and closed their eyes," said one senior Lashkar operative in Karachi who said he had met some of the gunmen before they left for the Mumbai assault, though he did not know what their mission would be. The intelligence officials interviewed insisted on anonymity while discussing classified information. The current and former Lashkar militants did not want their names used for fear of antagonizing others in the group or Pakistani authorities. But by all accounts Lashkar's network, though dormant, remains alive, and the possibility that it could strike India again makes Lashkar a wild card in one of the most volatile regions of the world. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since they were created by the bloody partition of British India in 1947. Whether they begin again the long journey toward peace or find themselves eyeball to eyeball, nuclear arms at the ready, depends in no small measure on the actions of this shadowy group. A new attack could reverberate widely through the region and revive nagging questions about Pakistan's commitment to stamp out the militant groups that use its territory. It could also dangerously complicate the Obama administration's efforts in Afghanistan. Success there depends in part on avoiding open conflict between India and Pakistan, so that Pakistan's military can focus on battling the Taliban insurgents who base themselves in Pakistan. Even so, American diplomatic efforts to improve India-Pakistan relations have been stillborn. So delicate is the Kashmir issue that Indian officials bridle at any hint of American mediation. Meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, the two sides failed to restart talks last weekend, with India demanding greater steps by Pakistan to prosecute those responsible for the Mumbai attacks. The dossiers show that at the level of the police, the two countries can cooperate, and have exchanged DNA evidence, photographs and items found with the attackers to piece together a detailed portrait of the Mumbai plot. But the files are laced with barbs and recriminations, reflecting the increasingly acid tenor of their relations. Despite pledges to work together to fight terrorism, the Pakistani and Indian intelligence services are not on speaking terms, according to officials in both countries and the United States. The gaps heighten the risks of a new attack substantially, American officials fear. "The only cooperation we have with the Pakistanis is that they send us their terrorists, who kill our people, and we kill their terrorists," a senior Indian intelligence official said in an interview. Asked how much his agency communicated with its Indian counterpart, a senior Pakistani intelligence official made an O with his thumb and forefinger. "Zero," he replied. Full Report at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/ world/asia/30mumbai.html?hp=&pagewanted=print ---- No Credible Evidence' of Iranian Nuclear Weapons, says UN Inspector Mohamed ElBaradei says Iran was 'on the wrong side of the law' but rejects British intelligence claims By Julian Borger and Richard Norton-Taylor October 01, 2009 "The Guardian" --- The UN's chief weapons inspector, Mohamed ElBaradei, said today he had seen "no credible evidence" that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, rejecting British intelligence allegations that a weapons programme has been going on for at least four years. The claims and counter-claims came on the eve of a potentially decisive meeting in Geneva between diplomats from six world powers and an Iranian delegation about Tehran's nuclear ambitions. Iran insists its programme is for peaceful purposes, and that there is nothing illegal about a uranium enrichment plant under construction near the city of Qom, the existence of which was revealed last week. Iranian leaders say they did not have to inform the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) until six months before the first uranium was processed. But ElBaradei, the outgoing IAEA director general, publicly disagreed today, saying Iran had been under an obligation to tell the agency "on the day it was decided to construct the facility". He said the Iranian government was "on the wrong side of the law". However, ElBaradei rejected British intelligence claims that Iran had reactivated its weapons programme at least four years ago. By making the claims the UK broke with the official US intelligence position that Iranian work on developing a warhead probably stopped in 2003. They said that even if there was a halt, as reported in a US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) two years ago, the programme restarted in late 2004 or early 2005. British officials had been privately sceptical about the NIE finding since its publication in 2007, but this was the first time they had made detailed allegations about Iran's weapons programme. Full Article at: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article23602.htm ----------- Top Somali Islamist gunned down in central town Oct 3, 2009 APA – Mogadishu (Somalia) Reports from Beledweyn, the provincial capital of the central Hiiran region, indicate that unidentified gunmen have on Friday evening killed a prominent Islamist figure, Sheik Aden Abdi Salam, of the Hezbal Islam opposition group (Islamic Party). According to eye witnesses in the city, three masked men armed with pistols killed Abdi Salam while he was walking in the city centre. No group has yet claimed the responsibility of this latest targeted assassination which is the first of its kind against a militant leader in this city which has been a spot of armed struggle for the past four months. The killing of Sheik Aden Abdi Salam comes as Hezbal Islam and their one-time ally Al Shabab fought on Thursday to control the southern key port town of Kismayo. Beledweyn which is about 335km north of the capital Mogadishu is along the main road that links the southern and northern Somali regions. Source: http://www.apanews.net/apa.php? page=show_article_eng&id_article=108108 ----- Daily brief: Pakistani military operation against Taliban stronghold looms 10/02/200 Event notice: Join David Loyn, author of In Afghanistan, and Peter Bergen, AfPak Channel editor, today at 3:30pm in Washington, DC for a discussion of Afghanistan's recent history. The event will also be webcast here. Arma virumque cano The Pakistani Army is preparing a major military offensive against Taliban militants in the tribal region of South Waziristan, a known hotbed of extremist activity and the home base of former Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in August (New York Times, AP). Past military operations have been unsuccessful, and analysts are skeptical that the Pakistani Army will target all the militant networks in Waziristan and worry that Uzbek militants in the region pose a serious threat (Foreign Policy, Foreign Policy). The leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, an allegedly al Qaeda linked militant group active in Pakistan's tribal regions, is believed to have been killed by a U.S. drone strike in late August, though a Taliban spokesman has denied it (BBC, Reuters, AFP). Well-connected Pakistani journalist Rahimullah Yusufzai reported two days ago that a man claiming to be Tahir Yuldachev's bodyguard said the IMU leader had died and been replaced by another Uzbek militant called Abdur Rahman (The News). In a 10 minute video posted on the social networking site Facebook, Pakistani soldiers can be seen apparently abusing captured militants by kicking, punching, and whipping the suspects, who writhe and scream (BBC, AP). Though the location, timing, and authenticity of the video are currently unknown, Pakistan's security forces have been accused in the past of human rights violations and the Pakistan Army is investigating this case. We need to talk U.S. President Barack Obama summoned his top commander in Afghanistan Gen. Stanley McChrystal to a meeting on Air Force One today, as debates about how to move forward in the country rage on in the administration (AP, USA Today). The 25 minute meeting was the first face to face encounter between Obama and McChrystal since the general was appointed to his post in June (New York Times). In a speech yesterday in London, Gen. McChrystal was candid about conditions on the ground, encouraged his European allies to "show resolve," and flatly said "No" when asked if he would support scaling back the American presence in Afghanistan (Washington Post, New York Times). He also speculated that between 50 and 80 percent of Taliban militants would probably stop fighting if given jobs, and again warned that the situation in Afghanistan is "serious"  (Times of London, Al Jazeera). A video of his address is available from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). Full Article at: http://afpak.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/ 10/02/daily_brief_pakistani_military_operation_against_taliban_stronghold_looms ---- NOW AL-SHABAAB GRABS KISMAYU AFTER OVERPOWERING HISBUL-ISLAM Kanini Evans Kariuki, October 02, 2009 AS I had earlier predicted, heavy fighting has now broken out between the Al-Shabaab and Hisbul-Islam following a stand-off in the Kismayu area,located 500 Kilometres South of Mogadishu. And following the serious battle heightened by blood-cuddling burst of machine gun fire, Al-Shabaab has now seized Kismayu after killing 12 members of Hisbul-Islam. The Hisbul-Islam forces have re-grouped after going back to the drawing board. They have refused to throw in the towel and back out. They hope to pull the rug from under the feet of the Al-Shabaab who have overpowered them, and taken control of Kismayu-the second most important sea port in Somalia. Change of the current regime is necessary to facilitate ideal structures of governance and reconciliation amongst warring groups. Unless otherwise,the sorry situation of instability will rage for ages. Neither West nor East seems to be exhibiting sympathy for the catastrophes befalling disillusioned Somalis, the wanton destruction of the Somali state resources and the plight of the refugees dying in the high seas, deserts in the Middle East, and other areas where escape proves difficult. President Sharrif should quit largely because he has miserably failed to reconcile the Somalis and the rebel groups, a glaring weakness that has unfortunately culminated in countless killings of innocent people. He has presided over an administration that lacks experience in public politics and state management issues. President Sharrif´s advisers, who include the uneducated Finance Minister Sheikh Sharif Adan,lack the know-how on Public Finance management, a situation that has contributed to the crippling of Somalia. Full Article at: http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/printFriendly/121835 --- Ahmadinejad: West media 'weapon of subterfuge' Oct 3rd, 2009 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says corporate media has turned into a weapon of subterfuge, with the sole aim of advancing the West's political agenda. In a Saturday address to the Islamic Radio and TV Union Assembly, Ahmadinejad cited random examples of political bias in US and European media outlets. As a first example of biased reporting in the West, Ahmadinejad pointed to the scant media coverage of Israel's three-week attack on Gaza, which killed over 1500 Palestinians mostly women and children, earlier in the year. "Israelis easily used thousands of bombs against the defenseless population of Gaza Strip, who were stripped of medicine and their most essential needs. Now, eight months have passed and we see that the event has been already sunk into oblivion." Ahmadinejad said criticism of Israel and its actions has become 'off limits' in American and European media. Then, Ahmadinejad turned to the sheer lack of media attention to the brutal murder of Marwa el-Sherbini, a pregnant Egyptian woman who was stabbed to death in a German courtroom while the whole jury and court officials stood by and watched. Last but not least, Ahmadinejad pointed to the recent media hype over Iran's second nuclear enrichment plant. "In the past few days, we saw Western media outlets repeating false accusations against Iran's nuclear issue." Ahmadinejad: West media weapon of subterfuge 230909banner1 [2] "This is how the Western media works. First they distort facts and fabricate news. Then they incessantly repeat their false allegations, just to make sure that it is forever etched on the minds of people," he said. "[US President Barack Obama] made a huge mistake when he accused Iran of secrecy and gave rise to the recent torrent of false reports," said President Ahmadinejad. Full Article at: http://www.prisonplanet.com/ ahmadinejad-west-media-weapon-of-subterfuge.html/print/ --- Ahmadinejad calls for Israel war-crimes trial Sat, 03 Oct 2009 Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for war-crimes trial of Israeli regime for its serious violations of international human rights in its incursion into Gaza from December 27, 2008 to January 18, 2009. Ahmadinejad's remarks come a few days after the UN Fact-Finding Mission found the Zionist regime guilty of violating human rights in Palestinian occupied territories. The report said that the regime committed actions amounting to war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity. On Tuesday, the Head of the Mission Justice Richard Goldstone urged the international community to stop impunity for the Zionist regime war crimes in Gaza. Addressing the opening session of the third general assembly of the Islamic Radio and Television Union, Ahmadinejad said the western media dictate daily agenda for other governments and nations and attack their intellectual principles and cultural values.  Full Article at: http://www.alalam.ir/english/detail.aspx?id=81921 --- Somalia: Hizbul Islam official assassinated in Beletwein Oct 3, 2009 BELETWEIN, Somalia Oct 3 (Garowe Online) - An official working for Somalia's Hizbul Islam rebel faction was shot and killed overnight Friday by unknown gunmen in the central town of Beletwein, Radio Garowe reports. Sheikh Aden Abdisalam Abdi was a member of the Hizbul Islam administration in Hiran region, where Islamist governor Sheikh Abdirahman Ibrahim Ma'ow joined Hizbul Islam after quitting Somalia's interim government last month. Local sources said 7 unidentified gunmen killed Sheikh Aden in Howlwadaag neighborhood of west Beletwein, capital of Hiran region. The group of killers escaped into the night and Hizbul Islam officials said they are investigating the matter. Hizbul Islam fighters have not seized control of west Beletwein yet since returning to Beletwein last Wednesday. Some reports said west Beletwein is ruled by Al Shabaab, but there are no fighters or armed trucks belonging to Al Shabaab currently present inside Beletwein. Sheikh Aden was the social affairs secretary for Hiran region when Sheikh Ma'ow served as Hiran governor for Somalia's interim government. Sheikh Aden later switched sides to Hizbul Islam when Sheikh Ma'ow quit the Somali government. Beletwein has been the scene of armed clashes between Somali government forces and insurgent factions Hizbul Islam and Al Shabaab. The town has exchanged hands a number of times since August. http://www.garoweonline.com/artman2/publish/Somalia_27/ Somalia_Hizbul_Islam_official_assassinated_in_Beletwein.shtml ----   The First International Islamic Retreat in the Caribbean (intro) October 2, 2009 This week I find myself at the First International Islamic Retreat at the Islamic Center of Barrackpore, Trinidad. I have only limited internet access, so I will not be able to devote my full attention to Emails and comments. I will endeavor to provide a brief summary of each session and report the event as thoroughly as possible, but I will not have time to provide my own thoughts and analysis until I return. This is the first event of this kind in the Caribbean. It will go from Shawwal 12-17 1430 (October 1-6, 2009). A brief history of Trinidad: Trinidad's indigenous people, the Belicose Caribs, are virtually absent in modern Trinidad. Most of them migrated to other islands to help their cousins in Dominica and St. Vincent to defend their homes from the European powers. Today only small communities exist. Trinidad is approximately 1900 sq. miles, about the size of Rhode Island. During the colonial period the island changed hands 22 times between the French, Dutch and British forces. The English were granted sovereignty in 1763 by the Treaty of Paris and Trinidad did not gain independence until 1962 when the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago was founded. The history of Islam in Trinidad is very similar to the history of Islam in America. The first Muslims on the Island were brought as slaves from West Africa. Although most of these were so thoroughly Christianized by their captors that their religion was lost within a generation. When slavery was abolished immigrants from India came as indentured servants bringing Hinduism and reintroducing Islam. Through the Dawah of these immigrants the African population began returning to Islam. Today Muslims represent about 5% of the population. Full Article at: http://www.examiner.com /x-17122-SF-Muslim-Examiner~y2009m10d2-The-First-International-Islamic-Retreat-in-the-Caribbean-intro ---- Muhyiddin: PAS Does Not Reflect Islamic Culture When Supporters Resort To Violence October 03, 2009 PORT DICKSON, Oct 3 (Bernama) -- Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the rude behaviour of the PAS supporters who had punched Umno supporters does not reflect the attitude of the party which claims to champion the cause of Islam. The Deputy Prime Minister said this showed that the opposition party was uncivilised although it claimed to champion Islam. "They said Islam encourages its followers to be courteous, polite and uphold high moral values but it appears that they are not like an Islamic party," he told reporters after the nomination of the Umno and PAS candidates for the Bagan Pinang state by-election at the Port Dickson Municipal Council Hall Saturday. He expressed regret at the attitude of the opposition supporters because such incidents had occurred on several occasions during previous elections and the supporters who claimed to be Islamic were actually more inclined to resort to dirty tactics and making slanderous remarks. "I've read the statement by the (PAS) spiritual leader (Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat). He said we should be courteous, refrain from making personal attacks. He only talks but does not practice what he preaches. I believe the Election Commission and the authorities want the election to be carried out in a peaceful manner," he said... Full Article at: http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=444177 ---- Militant: 3 aid workers freed in Somalia October 3, 2009 MOGADISHU, Somalia -- An Islamic militia commander says kidnappers have released three aid workers they held in captivity in Somalia for more than two months. Sheik Abdullahi Nor says he saw the three former hostages board a small plane on Saturday in the southwestern Somali town of Luq. Nor says intermediaries contacted his militia group, the Hizbul Islam, to ask to use their airstrip to fly out the former hostages. He says he does not know who the kidnappers are nor whether any ransom was paid for their release. The three aid workers were kidnapped in July in northern Kenya and taken across the border into Somalia. Somalia has not had a functioning government for 18 years. Kidnappings for ransom have risen in recent years, with journalists and aid workers often targeted. Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/03/AR2009100301042_pf.html ---- URL: http://newageislam.net/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1842