Dhaka – Bangladeshi police Tuesday arrested three leaders of a religious political party on charges of hurting Muslim sentiments, police said.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party chief Motiur Rahman Nizami,general secretary Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed and vice president Delwar Hossain Saydee were arrested on a court order, police officer.

Dhaka’s Metropolitan Magistrate Mehedi Hasan Talukder issued the warrant after the defendants failed to comply with summons to appear in court in a lawsuit Tuesday.

Syed Rezaul Haque, a leader of Bangladesh Tarikat Federation, filed the suit on March 21 accusing the party of having compared Nizami to Prophet Muhammad – a serious offence in Islam.

The party is also widely blamed for supporting Pakistani occupiersduring the country’s liberation war of 1971.

Brunei Darussalam — Muslims in the country are urged to read, memorise, and learn the Al-Quran as a habit. The Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs said that effort to learn the Al-Quran needs to be carried out continuously because learning Al-Quran is a life long learning.

According to Pengiran Haji Bahrom bin Pengiran Haji Bahar, for those who are unable to read the Al-Quran or unable to read fluently, efforts to learn the reading of Al-Quran must to be carried out continuously. This is in-line with His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam’s hopes in his titah to produce Bruneians who are able to read Al-Quran and understand the religion.

The Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs was speaking at the 47th Al-Quran Interpretation Oratory Contest for Religious School students throughout the country. The contest was won by Awang Azhar Aziz bin Haji Dullah from Pengiran Digadong Haji Mohd Salleh Religious School, Brunei Division One, and Dayangku Nurhazirah Binti Pengiran Haji Duraman from the Pelambayan Religious School, Brunei Division Two, in their respective categories.

President Barack Obama and Saudi King Abdullah met Tuesday at the White House to discuss the Middle East peace process.

Obama stressed on the importance of securing a Palestinian homeland alongside a strong Israeli state. “They expressed their hope that proximity talks between Israelis and Palestinians will lead to the resumption of direct talks with the aim of two states living side-by-side in peace and security,” the White House said in a statement.

The US president said, “As representatives of two G-20 countries, we also continued the conversation that took place this weekend about how the Saudi – how the Saudi government and the United States government can work with our other partners around the world to keep the economic recovery going and to help bring about the strong economic growth that’s necessary to put people back to work.”

“The President and King Abdullah also discussed the importance of resuming the Israeli-Syrian and the Israeli-Lebanese tracks in order to achieve a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. The President welcomed the King’s continued leadership in support of the Arab Peace Initiative.”

Obama said their meeting ranged over a number of strategic issues, including Iran’s nuclear program, Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as “the importance of moving forward in a swift and bold way in securing a Palestinian homeland that can live side by side with a secure and prosperous Israeli state.”

King Abdullah only spoke briefly after their meeting, thanking Obama for his hospitality and praising the friendship between their two countries. “I would like to say to the friendly American people that the American people are friends of Saudi Arabia and its people, and they are friends of the Arab and Muslim people, and they are also friends of humanity,” he said.

Analysts say the Saudis want Obama to take a stronger stance with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over stalled peace talks with the Palestinians and on freezing settlements. Netanyahu meets Obama on July 6.

The leaders also discussed building a Saudi army that would be capable of facing any threat. The possible purchase of 72 F-16 jets by the Saudi was also discussed.

The Islamic Movement in 1948 occupied Palestine condemned an Israeli movie production company for violating the sanctity of an old mosque, known as the Mosque of Ali bin Abi Taleb, in the city of Qalansuwa in central Palestine.

The acting/filming crew entered the mosque in provocative attire on Monday and made insulting remarks against Allah. The film crew also drank wine next to the mosque, all while taking footage for an Israeli film about the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The violation of holy symbols angered residents, who in turn demanded that the Zionist crew leave the mosque. When they refused, the situation escalated into a few-minute scuffle. The camera crew was eventually removed from the mosque.

Sheikh Moayyed al-Uqbi, an administrator of the Islamic Movement in Qalansuwa, denounced the act of desecration in a press statement, remarking that “Israeli abuse has reached a peak today, including language spoken against God and violation of the mosque’s sanctity and its surroundings, and even abuse against the entire people of Qalansuwa.”

“We, as an Islamic movement, condemn all of these violations and acts of abuse, and demand that the municipality issues an order banning the completion of their filming in the vicinity of the mosque and the entire city,” the Sheikh added.

Palestinian sources said that the Israeli film production company has been producing a film about the West Bank and Gaza Strip for two weeks in the Qalansuwa city area, because of its resemblance to the villages of the West Bank and Gaza.