Palestinian female captive on hunger strike for the third day running

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JNN 30.10.10 The Mandela Foundation that caters for Palestinian captives said that Lanan Abu Ghalma who is detained at Hasharon prison has started a hunger strike three days ago to protest the prison’s administration refusal to unite her with her sister Tagrid who is detained in another Israeli occupation jail.

 

The Mandela Foundation that caters for Palestinian captives said that Lanan Abu Ghalma who is detained at Hasharon prison has started a hunger strike three days ago to protest the prison’s administration refusal to unite her with her sister Tagrid who is detained in another Israeli occupation jail.

Head of the foundation, lawyer Buthaina Duqmaq, said in a statement on Friday that Nada Derbas, another Palestinian female captive, went on hunger strike in solidarity with Lanan.

Daqmaq further called on local and international human rights organisation to pressure the Israeli occupation to release the two sisters Lanan and Tagrid Abu Ghalma.

Lanan was arrested last April and placed under administrative detention and a heavy fine was imposed on her sister Tagrid on top of her detention.

Lanan was one of twenty Palestinian female captives freed in October 2009 in return for a two and a half minute video of Gilad Shalit in which he appeared to be fit and well both mentally and physically.


Head of Al-Azhar to Meet Grand Ayatollah Sistani

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JNN 30.10.10 The Kuwaiti daily Al-Jarida yesterday said that Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb, president of Egypt’s Al-Azhar University plans to meet with Shia source of emulation grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Sistani.

The Kuwaiti daily Al-Jarida yesterday said that Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb, president of Egypt’s Al-Azhar University plans to meet with Shia source of emulation grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Sistani.

According to Nun website, Al-Tayeb will visit Iraq after the new Iraqi government is formed.

He will also meet with other Shia sources of emulation to discuss ways for proximity among Shia and Sunni schools of thought.

His trip is expected to be a step towards holding an international conference of Shia and Sunni scholars and thinkers.

Located in Cairo, Egypt, Al-Azhar University is the main centre of Sunni Islamic learning in the world.


'Bahrain's Shia trials not to be fair'

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A Bahraini activist says the trial of Shia opposition detainees in Bahrain will not be fair as the Judiciary is totally swayed by the kingdom’s ruling family.

“I do not think there is going to be a fair trial. You cannot have a fair trial when the judge is accused himself,” Saeed al-Shahabi from Bahrain Freedom Movement said in an interview with Press TV on Thursday.

“In Bahrain the judge is appointed by the ruling family and he could be one of them. So, he is charging and trying people who he thinks are enemies,” he further explained.

During the trial of 27 Shia opposition activists at Bahrain’s High Criminal Court on Thursday, defendants complained that they were tortured by Bahraini authorities while in detention.

Defense attorneys argued that defendants had been abused while in detention. They also faced beatings and electric shocks and kept in solitary confinement.

Al-Shahabi ruled out the possibility of a just and lawful hearing while at the same time the defendants have been subject to torture and abuse.

” … You have these serious allegations of torture, and today they have proved to be not just allegations but facts when people expose their bodies to show serious wounds and one of them, Jaafar al-Hasabi, has said explicitly that he was sexually assaulted,” al-Shahabi went on to say.

The trial comes less than one week after the country’s parliamentary elections, which saw thousands demonstrating against what they insist is discrimination by the Sunni-led government.

Shias say they are discriminated against in housing, health, and education, in addition to government sector jobs.

Shias comprise 70 percent of Bahrain’s population, yet hold only 17 of the 40 seats in the directly-elected lower house of parliament.

Additionally, the upper house, or Shura Council, also has 40 members that are entirely appointed by the Bahraini King, Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and has vetoing power.

Moreover, the Bahraini king appoints all the country’s ministers.

The government came down hard on the Shia opposition and human rights activists leading up to the elections in August and has arrested more than 250 dissidents that were protesting the election campaigns.


21 Shia Muslims Martyr by Suicide Bomber in North of Baghdad

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BAGHDAD: A suicide bomber wearing an explosives belt martyred at least 21 people on Friday in a town north of Baghdad, shattering what had been weeks of relative calm, the town’s mayor said.

A suicide bomber wearing an explosives belt martyred at least 21 people on Friday in a town north of Baghdad, shattering what had been weeks of relative calm, the town’s mayor said.

The suicide bomber blew himself up inside a popular cafe in the town of Balad Ruz, 45 miles (70 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad, said the town’s mayor, Mohammed Maaruf. An additional 65 people were injured, he said.

The neighborhood where the explosion occurred is home to many Faili Kurds, a small sect of ethnic Kurds following the Shia branch of Islam, and many of the dead were Shias.

Feyli Kurds are largely a Shiite community living in Baghdad and Iraq around Khanaqin and Mandili. There are an estimated 2-3 million Feylis living in Iraq.


Ibrahimi mosque closed for Muslim worshipers as settlers celebrate "Chaye Sarah"

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Scores of Jewish settlers converged on al-Khalil on Friday afternoon to celebrate “Chaye Sarah” closing the mosque in the face of Muslim worshipers for the length of the festivity.

Scores of Jewish settlers converged on al-Khalil on Friday afternoon to celebrate “Chaye Sarah” closing the mosque in the face of Muslim worshipers for the length of the festivity.

The festivity will last until Saturday evening, where both parts of the Mosque have been opened for the settlers.

IOF troops intensified their presence inside the city, especially the old city and roads leading to the Ibrahimi Mosque.

The Israeli occupation authorities had earlier informed the Islamic Awqaf department in al-Khalil of the intended closure of the mosque for Muslims on Friday and Saturday.

Although Chaye Sarah is not an official Jewish holiday, settlers made it a yearly celebration saying that as they read in the Torah the story of Ibrahim (PBUH) buying the caves of Machpela, as they are trying to gradually take over the Ibrahimi Mosque.


210 embrace Islam in two months in Dubai

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DUBAI – The Information Centre of Dar Al Ber Society in Dubai registered conversion of 210 people into Islam in September and October.

The Information Centre of Dar Al Ber Society in Dubai registered conversion of 210 people into Islam in September and October.Yusuf Al Saeed, manager of the centre, said the new converts included individuals and families of different nationalities. “Their hearts are touched by the tolerance, greatness, mercy and consistency of Islam,” he added.

“Special programmes organised by the centre had attracted around 1100 people to Islam this year so far. Most of the conversions took place in Ramadan, with 250 new Muslims, basically due to the spirit of the holy month,” Al Saeed said. He noted thousands of people come to the centre willingly to know about Islam. “The information on teachings and principles of Islam, provided in the books being gifted to thousands of truth-seekers, quench their thirst for the true religion,” he said.

Dar Al Ber Society has always been very keen to spread the peaceful message of Islam without any coercion since its establishment in Dubai 30 years ago.

“The branches and offices of the society in the emirates of Dubai, Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah receive applications for conversion on a daily basis,” Saeed said.

The centre had distributed over 67,000 copies of the Holy Quran as well as 9,000 translated introductory books, audio cassettes and CDs on Islam in different languages, including Chinese, Russian, Tagalog, English, Urdu and others.

“The centre has further distributed more than 300,000 copies of Dar Al Ber editions of the Holy Quran to the masjids, Islamic centres and individuals inside the country and abroad this year,” Saeed said.

Millions of lives still at risk in Pakistan, warns Oxfam

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Funds for the UN Pakistan disaster appeal are drying up and threatening millions of lives three months after floods devastated the country, international development agency Oxfam has warned

Funds for the UN Pakistan disaster appeal are drying up and threatening millions of lives three months after floods devastated the country, international development agency Oxfam has warned.

The British charity said that cases of disease are increasing with large areas of the worst-hit region, the southern province of Sindh, remaining underwater.

As winter approaches, seven million people are still without adequate shelter, it said.

The warning follows similar comments from the UK Disasters Emergency Committee and other development organisations, calling on the donor community to fund Pakistan generously in its time of need and help the emergency response across all flood-affected areas.

“The crisis is far from over. Parts of southern Sindh, the worst-hit area, still remain a disaster zone,” said Neva Khan, Oxfam’s director in Pakistan.

“When the world’s attention was focused on Pakistan’s flood victims there was a chance of seeing substantial aid being delivered. But as the worst of the flood waters have receded so has the promise of significant funding”, Khan said.

The slow response to the UN emergency appeal has been widely criticised and remains less than 40 per cent funded.

Oxfam said many of the world’s richest countries are “failing the flood victims, who are amongst the poorest and most vulnerable in the world.”

According to the United Nations, 10 million people are in need of immediate food assistance. The funding shortfall is so serious that existing regular food rations to 3.5 million people could be in jeopardy.


Interfaith Panel to Meet in Clearwater, US to Discuss Islam

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The construction of an Islamic center near the site in New York City where the World Trade Center twin towers were toppled in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and a Gainesville minister’s threat to have a public burning of the Quran , both have sparked nationwide controversy about Islam in recent months

The construction of an Islamic center near the site in New York City where the World Trade Center twin towers were toppled in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and a Gainesville minister’s threat to have a public burning of the Quran , both have sparked nationwide controversy about Islam in recent months.

On Wednesday night, the Interfaith Coalition of Tampa Bay will host a panel discussion focusing on the Muslim religion titled “Can’t We All Just Get Along?” at the Unitarian Universalists of Clearwater, 2470 Nursery Road, Clearwater. The public is welcome to attend.

Featured speakers from different Islamic communities will discuss how Muslims practice their faith, organizers say. They will answer questions about Islam and address responses from other faith leaders.

It’s the first in a series of programs to promote interfaith understanding and cooperation.

“What we’ve seen over the years is that there is a hunger to learn more about others’ faith,” said the Rev. Abhi Janamanchi of Unitarian Universalists of Clearwater. “We held a series like this about three or four years ago and averaged 150 people.”

Janamanchi, 41, of Safety Harbor has been senior minister at Unitarian Universalists of Clearwater for 12 years and will serve as panel moderator.

After a question-and-answer period, participants will split into groups for discussions under the direction of Roy Kaplan, an associate professor of Africana studies at the University of South Florida.

From 1989 to 2004, Kaplan was executive director of the National Conference for Community and Justice Tampa Bay Region.