JNN 24 Oct 2013 Washington : A US political commentator says Britain’s foreign intelligence agency is planning to send more spies to Afghanistan to manage a $100-billion drug ( Heroin ) industry. Continue reading
Category Archives: United States
Saudi Arabia Plans to Shift away from US , as US Drift towards Iran
JNN 23 Oct 2013 Riyadh : Saudi Arabia says it plans to make a ‘major shift’ in its dealings with the United States over Iran, Bahrain, Palestine and Syria. Continue reading
American Shia Hajis attacked by Wahabi Saudi Terrorist during Haj
JNN 22 Oct 2013 Jeddah : A group of Shia Americans visiting Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj were threatened and attacked earlier this week on Oct. 16 by a radicalized Wahabi group of extremists. On one of the nights where Hajj pilgrims are required to stay overnight in the city of Mina, a group of young men began asking different sets of pilgrims if they were from the United States. Continue reading
Air Pollution Causes Cancer : Report Confirmed by WHO
JNN 20 Oct 2013 Paris : What many commuters choking on smog have long suspected has finally been scientifically validated: air pollution causes lung cancer. Continue reading
Partial Lunar Eclipse to be observed On 19th Oct 2013
JNN 19 Oct 2013 Karachi : The full moon will dip into Earth’s shadow tonight (Oct. 19), producing a lunar eclipse that can be seen by keen observers around the world. Continue reading
US Default Once Again Delayed , While Chinese Yuan Ready to void the US$
JNN 18 Oct 2013 Washingoton: President Obama and Congress have signed off on extending the debt ceiling through to February. The new legislation only temporarily solves the US budget dispute, begging the question if America will ever limit its borrowing. Continue reading
Eid ul Azha for the Year 1434 Hijri celebrated around the World
JNN 16 Oct 2013 Karachi : Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, which gives a Message of Sacrifice , and on this day God Want to see the Passion of every Muslim to Sacrifice their Most Beloved thing in the Hour of Need , as and when God Wants them to Sacrifice. Continue reading
US Dollar Dominance days are over , The Default Currency of the World Could not save its Debt Default
JNN 15 Oct 2013 New York : A US debt default could hit on Thursday, and world leaders are second guessing the dominant role America plays in finance. Regardless of the final decision in Washington, confidence and credibility in the US has already eroded. Continue reading
US Latino’s exploring their roots , resulting Latino conversion to Islam on the Rise
JNN 15 Oct 2103 Florida : Just as the U.S. Latino population is on the rise – Hispanics are now the nation’s largest minority – so is the number of Latino Muslims. And it’s not just a result of Arab Latin Americans emigrating to the United States.
According to organizations like WhyIslam.org, Latinos are one of the fastest growing segments of the Muslim community. About six percent of U.S. Muslims are now Latino – and as many as a fifth of new converts to Islam nationwide are Latino.
The American Muslim Association of North America, based in North Miami, says heavily Hispanic South Florida in particular is home to a rising number of Latino Muslims.
Not that conversion to Islam is easy in Latino society, as Marina Gonzalez knows. A Nicaraguan-American nurse in Miami, Gonzalez converted five years ago and wears the hijab, the Muslim women’s head garb. At first her family stopped talking to her.
“They [were] calling me Talibana,” Gonzalez recalls. “My mother, she didn’t like to go [out] with me because I wear the hijab.”
But now her mother “understands. When I go to my parents’ house they turn off the TV when I have to pray. I’m so happy.”
Najib Sowma’s first name was Dario before he converted six years ago. Today he’s a leading member of the Al-Ihsaan mosque in South Miami-Dade. But his Cuban mother was initially shocked.
“Now her views have changed,” says Sowma. “Prior to me being Muslim to who I am now, she sees a big difference in my character.”
If it’s a surprise that many Latinos are moving from a predominantly Roman Catholic culture to an originally Arab faith, perhaps it shouldn’t be. For one thing, like African-Americans in the 1960s, Latinos are discovering their own historical and cultural ties to Islam and the Arab world. And that starts with what most defines Latinos: Spanish.
“Our language is nurtured by more than 4,000 words that come from Arabic,” says Wilfredo Ruiz, a Puerto Rican-born Muslim who converted a decade ago and is a lawyer for the South Florida chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations. “Every word in Spanish that starts with ‘al,’ for example, like alcalde, alcantarilla, almohada.”
That’s because Arab Muslims ruled Spain for some 800 years during the Middle Ages – and made the Iberian Peninsula one of the most advanced civilizations of its time. A millennium later, Ruiz says that past is an inescapable part of the Hispanic DNA.
“What most Latinos who have embraced Islam find most amazing is their cultural affinity to the Muslim culture,” says Ruiz. “It’s like rediscovering your past. That area of our past has been hidden from us.”
Ruiz points out that both Latinos and Arabs highly value the extended family and traditions like offering hospitality to strangers. In religious terms, Latinos like Gonzalez say Islam provides a simpler, more direct form of worship than Catholicism does. They also feel more structure than they see in the evangelical churches so many Latinos join today.
“The connection I have with God now is better than before,” says Gonzalez.
Yet many take comfort in the overlap between Catholicism and Islam. Muslims, for example, venerate the Virgin Mary as well as Jesus, at least as a prophet.
“At the beginning when I was reading the Quran I said, “Oh, [Muslims] believe in the hereafter, in angels,’” says Liliana Parodi, a Peruvian-American surgical technician in Miami who converted 24 years ago. “You know, it’s not so much difference.”
More Latina women convert to Islam than Latino men do. Islam is admittedly questioned for its segregation of women. But Latinas like Parodi say it’s hypocritical for a male-dominated Catholic Church – which forbids women priests, birth control and divorce – and an ultra-macho Latino society – whose Spanish-language television networks still portray women as spitfire sexpots – to criticize their new faith in that regard.
“I tell them, ‘Look at yourself,’” says Parodi. “The sad part is [when they] see women as objects.”
A decade ago, the nation’s image of a Latino Muslim was unfortunately Jose Padilla, the so-called “Dirty Bomber” who was convicted for aiding terrorists. But for Ruiz, who was also a Navy chaplain, much has changed since then – and Latinos are less fearful now of converting.
“They soon come to learn that [Muslims] abhor violence,” Ruiz says. “We have the same aspirations for social justice as a Christian or a Jew does.”
Which means, as Eid al-Adha arrives next Monday evening, more Latinos will be saying “Eid Mubarak.” Which is Arabic for “Eid Bendito.” Which is Spanish for “Have a Blessed Eid.”
Related articles
Madonna reveals she is studying the Holy Quran – Just Like a Prayer Girl
JNN 07 Oct 2013 New York : The Super Star and a Legend Singer Madonna revealed this week she has been studying the Holy Quran, a practice which has come alongside her efforts to build girls’ schools in Islamic countries. Continue reading
Rome Once again falling Down – US Federal Government Shutdown an Indicator for Dependents Economies
JNN 3 Oct 2013 WASHINGTON — The ongoing partial federal government shutdown and fiscal uncertainties are dampening American economic recovery, and a default on U.S. debt payments would have “immediate and substantial” negative effects on the country’s economy that would be difficult to quickly reverse, said David Stockton, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE). Continue reading
US Ice Melting Down as Obama calls on the Irani President Rouhani on his visit to UN
JNN 28 Sept 2103 President Barack Obama announced Friday that he had spoken by telephone with Iran’s president Hasan Rouhani — the first direct conversation between leaders of both countries since Iran’s Islamic revolution in 1979. Continue reading
3 American & British Woman among the attacker at Westgate Mall , Kenya , Nairobi acclaimed by Al Shabaab
JNN 25 Sept 2013 Kenya : Atleast three young American men and a British woman Samantha Lewthwaite, 29 were among the group of 15 Terrorist who have stormed a Nairobi mall, Kenya’s top diplomat says. Continue reading
US Air Force once dropped live hydrogen bomb on North Carolina – Report
JNN 22 Sept 2013 Washington : The US Air Force inadvertently dropped an atomic bomb over North Carolina in 1961. If a simple safety switch had not prevented the explosive from detonating, millions of lives across the northeast would have been at risk, a new document has revealed. Continue reading
U.S. issues Human Rights violation to Bahrain’s Monarchy
JNN 22 Sept 2013 Washington : Bahrain has been called on to take its commitments to political reform seriously following the arrest of an opposition leader, the U.S. State Department said. Continue reading
Russia ready to execute IP Gas Pipeline Project , Pakistan’s Confirmation awaited, US sanctions negated
JNN 21 Sept 2013 ISLAMABAD: Russia is ready to execute the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project, ignoring the U.S. sanctions on Iran, a Russian minister has revealed in a meeting with Pakistan’s petroleum minister in Islamabad. Continue reading
13 Killed By a Reservist’s firing in a US Navy Yard , Washington D.C
JNN 17 Sept 2013 Washington , D.C : At least 13 people died Monday during a shooting at the Washington Navy Yard, officials said. One gunman died in the shooting, and police are seeking another possible shooter. Continue reading
Chemical weapons deal is a “ Victory ” for Syrian Friends , As US has to Back Track on its War Phobia
JNN 16 Sept 2013 Damascus : In the country’s first response to the U.S.-Russia deal on Syria, a Syrian minister has declared the agreement a “victory” for his country and thanked Russia for orchestrating a chemical weapons deal to avert U.S. military action, Russia’s state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported. Continue reading
NASA’s Voyager 1 first spacecraft to break all the Barriers as it exit solar system
JNN 14th Sept. 2013 WASHINGTON, — U.S. space agency NASA said Thursday that its Voyager 1 spacecraft has become the first human- made object to venture into interstellar space. Continue reading
Gold Prices falls further on massive selling orders
JNN 14th Sept 2013 CHICAGO, — Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday fell sharply to the lowest level since Aug. 13 on massive selling orders. Continue reading
Suicide Bombing attack at US consulate in Herat , Afghanistan
JNN 14 Sept 2013 Kabul : car bomb explosion in front of the US consulate in the western Afghan province of Herat has left at least six dead and a second blast happened in the parking lot of the consulate a short time after the original explosion. Continue reading
Syria not to fulfill any agreement until U.S. stops threatening: Assad
JNN 14th Sept.2013 MOSCOW — Syria will not fulfill agreement on chemical weapons control until the U.S. stops threatening it, President Bashar al-Assad said Thursday. Continue reading
iPhone Launches New Models with New Software at an Apple Event , Does the Price Worth it
JNN 14 Sept 2013 New York : Two new iPhones in an array of colors and a redesigned operating system to run them were among the major announcements from Apple on Tuesday. Continue reading
Iran Announces to Unveil Documented facts Behind 9/11 Attacks
JNN 12 Sept 2013 Tehran : Iran plans to unveil a documentary disclosing a series of truths about September 11 attacks in New York, without disclosing name of the producers. Continue reading
Pakistan decides to free former Taliban second-in-command
JNN 11 Sept 2013 Islamabad : Pakistan plans to free former Afghan Taliban second-in-command, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, this month to help advance peace efforts in neighboring Afghanistan, Pakistan’s foreign policy chief said on Tuesday. Continue reading
Saudi King’s bribe to Hilary Clinton Bring her forward for a “ YES ” Vote , as Majority expected to vote againt Syria Strike
JNN 8th Sept 2013 Washington : American historian Webster Griffin Tarpley says former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has received 500,000 dollars in jewelry from Saudi Arabia to support war on Syria. As The majority in the House of Representatives are expected to vote against the Syrian War, with only a few dozen “yes” votes and a massive undecided contingent leaving open the door for not just a loss, but a huge loss for the war party.
Iraqi Shiite militias vows to attack U.S. interests if Syria attacked
JNN 05 Aug 2013 Baghdad : An Iraqi Shi’ite militia group said on Friday it would attack U.S. interests in Iraq and the region if Washington carries out a military strike on Syria. Continue reading
Egyptian Court sentences 11 MB leaders to life in prison , Orders Closure of 4 Television Channels Including Al Jazeera
JNN 4th Sept 2013 Cairo : An Egyptian military court on Tuesday sentenced 11 Muslim Brotherhood members to life in prison for violence targeting the army in the port city of Suez last month. And also ordered closure of four Television Channels . Continue reading
US has increased surveillance of Pakistan’s Nuclear Program – Snowden Files Reveal
JNN 4th Aug 2013 New York : Top-secret intelligence community documents recently leaked to the Washington Post reveal that the United States has ramped-up its surveillance of Pakistan’s nuclear program. Continue reading
UK , UN, Nato , China , Russia against any attack on Syria
JNN 03 Sept 2013 Hague : There is Strong sense of the Majority of the World against the US War Hysteria of a Possible Attack or Strike on Syria , on the Pretext of the Chemical Weapons attack on the Civilians , as till now this could not be even Proved that the forces loyal to Bashar Al Asad have Used the Chemical Weapons , as at a time when they were in the Win Win Situation , and why should they use the Chemical Weapons , to create a chaos and to put the World against them , while as the Independent source has even provided Proofs that the Saudi Government has provided the Chemical Weapons used by the terrorist on the Civilians to set a Pretext for a Strike against Syria By US.
United Kingdom
Any possibility of British involvement in a military campaign in Syria has been effectively ruled out after British lawmakers voted down the prospect in parliament, costing the U.S. the nation’s closest ally in a potential strike.
By a 285 to 272 margin British MPs rejected the government’s motion to support in principle military action against Syria. A second vote was due to be held on committing to action following the report by United Nations weapons inspectors, who are currently investigating claims that President Bashar Assad used chemical weapons on civilians.
British MPs also voted down an opposition Labor amendment calling for more information about the deployment of chemical weapons in Syria.
The Labor amendment was defeated Thursday by 332 votes to 220. “A number of Tories in the no lobby with Labor,” wrote Labor MP Jon Trickett.
The vote could be a blow to Cameron’s authority after he has advocated UK military action in the event U.S. forces deploy missiles in the Middle East.
Cameron, while advocating limited attacks against the Assad government, admitted he was not “100 percent certain” that Assad was behind a recent chemical attack, but that it was “highly likely”.
After the defeat in the parliament, Cameron admitted it was clear that Britons did not want action and said he “will act accordingly.” One MP shouted “resign” as Cameron pledged he would not order an attack.
Phillip Hammond, the UK Defense Secretary, said the U.S. “will be disappointed that Britain will not be involved”, however he did not think it would halt the process, “I don’t expect that the lack of British participation will stop any action,” he told the BBC.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel commented on the UK’s decision, explaining that a concerted international effort is the way forward in this matter.
“It is the goal of President (Barack) Obama and our government … whatever decision is taken, that it be an international collaboration and effort,” he said on a trip to the Philippines.
The vote came just before U.S. President Barack Obama met with congressional lawmakers and other key leaders to brief them on possible military action in Syria. White House deputy spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters Thursday that the U.S. was prepared to “go it alone” in Syria to protect American “core national security interests.”
“The president of the United States is elected with the duty to protect the national security interests of America,” he said. “The decisions he makes about our foreign policy is with our national security interests front and center.”
United Nation
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pleaded Wednesday for a diplomatic solution to the Syrian conflict, even as US appeared to be moving toward punitive military strikes against President Bashar Assad’s regime.
Ban said Wednesday a United Nation team investigating the alleged chemical attack must be given time to establish the facts. The investigators left their hotel Wednesday, and two anti-regime activists said the team was expected to visit an eastern suburb of the capital, Damascus, affected by the Aug. 21 strike that the group Doctors Without Borders says killed 355 people.
Syria has denied it was behind the alleged attack and challenged Washington to present proof to back up its accusations
Ban said the team already has already “gathered valuable samples and interviewed victims and witnesses.”
He also urged the United Nations Security Council, whose permanent members are bitterly divided over Syria, not to go “missing in action” as the Syria crisis deepens.
Without explicitly referring to moves apparently preparing for military action by Washington and its allies, Ban urged a peaceful resolution to Syria’s civil war.
“Here in the Peace Palace, let us say: Give peace a chance. Give diplomacy a chance. Stop fighting and start talking,” Ban said.
NATO
NATO’s secretary-general says he does not foresee a major role for the bloc regarding the crisis in Syria except deploying Patriot missiles to Turkey.
“I don’t foresee any further NATO role,” Anders Fogh Rasmussen said at a press conference on Monday. However, he said the bloc still conducts “closed consultations between allies.”
Rasmussen added that he had seen concrete evidence that made him convinced a chemical attack was carried out in Syria.
He stated that he could not discuss evidence presented to him thus far. “I do not comment on intelligence reports,” he affirmed.
EH also said he thought the Syrian government was responsible for the attack; an allegation that has been vehemently rejected by the Syrian government.
Yet he believed any subsequent strikes against the country were fully up to the discretion of the constituent states, adding that it could take time to build internal support.
UN chemical weapons inspectors left Syria on Saturday, and it will likely be three weeks before they provide the public with their analyses.
However, the US is pressing ahead with its claims of concrete evidence.
The US, backed by Israeli intelligence elements, claimed they had evidence that showed the Syrian government was responsible for a chemical attack near Damascus.
RUSSIA
Russia dismissed US documents as not convincing and called on the US to stop its military plans and follow with the political solutions and negotiations.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that a ‘regime of secrecy’ by the West is unacceptable with regards to evidence on an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria. “If there truly is top secret information available, the veil should be lifted. This is a question of war and peace. To continue this game of secrecy is simply inappropriate,” Lavrov said in an address to students of the Moscow State University of International Relations.
Support in the ‘democratic counties’ being referred to by Rasmussen is sparse.
A BBC poll published on Monday found that 71 percent of people thought the British Parliament was right to reject military intervention in Syria, while 72 percent said they did not think the move would negatively impact UK-US relations. A further two thirds said they would not care if it did hurt the bilateral relations.
French opinion is also heavily weighted against the move, despite French President François Hollande stating in the wake of the UK Commons vote against military action that he supported a “firm” response.
Fifty-nine percent of French voters oppose involvement in an airstrike by their nation, according to IFOP poll results published on Saturday.
China
China said there should be no rush to force UN Security Council action against Syria until a probe by UN experts into suspected chemical weapons use is complete.
In remarks reported by the official Xinhua news agency on Friday, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in a telephone call that China fully supported an independent and objective inspection free from outside pressure, Reuters reported.
“Before the investigation finds out what really happened, all parties should avoid prejudging the results, and certainly ought not to forcefully push for the Security Council to take action,” Wang told Ban, Xinhua reported.
Military force would not help resolve the Syrian issue and only worsen turmoil in the Middle East, Wang said.
“A political resolution is still the only way out,” he said.
Wang said in separate conversations with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby that whoever used chemical weapons had to accept responsibility.
Calm and restraint were also needed, Wang said.
“Taking unilateral action will make it hard to resolve the issue, and its legality will attract doubts,” he said.
“All sides should be urging peace and pushing for talks.”
U.S. officials acknowledged on Thursday they lacked conclusive evidence that the Syrian government ordered the August 21 poison gas attack, and some allies have warned that military action without UN Security Council authorization risks making the situation worse.
French President Francois Hollande said the British vote would not affect France’s will to act to punish the Syrian government for the apparent chemical weapons attack.
On Thursday, a meeting of the UN Security Council’s permanent members ended without reaching an agreement to resolve the Syrian crisis.
Representatives from the United States, Britain, France, Russia, and China met on Thursday afternoon at the UN headquarters in New York for the second time in two days, but the meeting broke up after less than an hour, with the ambassadors steadily walking out.
The diplomats made no comments about the Security Council’s session. British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant looked gloomy as he walked past reporters.
The previous meeting on Wednesday also abruptly ended with the Security Council deeply divided over a British-proposed draft resolution to authorize military action against Syria.
The Western members of the council have been pushing for a resolution on the use of force while Russia and China are strongly opposed to any attack on Syria.
The call for military action against Syria intensified after foreign-backed opposition forces accused the government of President Bashar al-Assad of launching a chemical attack on militant strongholds in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21.
Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi said on Wednesday that the West is seeking to turn Syria into a second Iraq and that the issue of chemical weapons use is only a pretext for war.
On Tuesday, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said there is “no doubt” that the Syrian government used chemical weapons and that it must be held accountable, appearing to prepare the ground for the military offensive against the Arab country.
U.S. allies, notably Britain, France and Turkey, have also accused Syria of using chemical weapons.
During a news conference on Tuesday in Damascus, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem challenged the United States and its allies to present evidence that the government had used chemical weapons.
“We are hearing war drums around us. If they want to launch an attack against Syria, I think using the excuse of chemical weapons is not true at all. I challenge them to show what proof they have,” Muallem said.
He also stated that any military action against Syria would serve the interests of Israel and al-Qaeda-linked militants fighting against the Syrian government.
“The war effort led by the United States and their allies will serve the interests of Israel and secondly al-Nusra Front,” the Syrian foreign minister noted.
Russia urged the West not to jump to conclusions on the chemical weapons attack, and await the findings of a UN inspection team, which will leave the Arab country by Saturday morning.
All countries should wait for the results of the probe and “show prudence and avoid tragic mistakes” by jumping to conclusions about the incident, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said on August 25.
“Our American and European partners must understand what catastrophic consequences this kind of politics would have for the region, for the Arab and Islamic world as a whole,” Lukashevich said, advising the West to avoid military action against Syria.
You must be logged in to post a comment.