By DPA,
Riyadh : Around 5,480 people converted to Islam in Saudi Arabia through the "Bring me to Islam" cell phone hotline service, media reports said Thursday.
The service, provided in 12 languages, was launched to raise awareness among foreign communities in the kingdom, the Saudi daily Okaz reported.
Any person can suggest names of non-Muslims he thinks might convert to Islam through text messages to the hotline, along with their phone numbers and the language they speak.
Later, preachers would call these non-Muslims and try to introduce them to Islam, without revealing the number of the person who suggested their names.
Preachers would call again if the person showed a desire to continue receiving these phone calls, Okaz said, adding that around 800,000 phone calls were made, costing 120,000 Saudi Riyals ($32,000).
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Denied Geneva trip permission by Assam Govt, Badruddin Ajmal to seek PM’s intervention
By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: Barely a week before his commencing trip to Geneva to address an international conference wherein he was to speak about the conditions of Muslims in India, the Congress government of Assam has denied MP Maulana Badruddin Ajmal the political clearance necessary for MPs going abroad. Maulana Ajmal is seeking Prime Minister’s intervention to save his scheduled trip.
Assam United Democratic Front chief Maulana Ajmal, who represents Assam’s Dhubri constituency in the Lok Sabha, was to read a paper on the conditions o Muslims in India particularly Assam at the international conference in Geneva on November 12-13.
Though the state government has not told the MP the reason of the denial it is said that the government did not want home issues to be raised at a global conference abroad.
It is said that perfume baron Maulana Ajmal’s paper had already been approved by the US embassy in New Delhi and the organizers of the conference in Geneva. The Union Ministry of External Affairs had okayed his trip and sought political clearance from the state government for visa purposes.
Sources close to the MP told TCN that AUDF chief Maulana Ajmal has decided to write to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh seeking his urgent intervention in the case so that he could attend the conference. He will also write to the Union Ministries of Home Affairs and Minority Affairs.
In the recent Lok Sabha elections AUDF has emerged as the main rival of the ruling Congress in Assam. Though the two-year-old party could win only one seat it ensured the defeat of half a dozen candidates of the Congress. AUDF has 10 MLAs in the State Assembly.
New Delhi: Barely a week before his commencing trip to Geneva to address an international conference wherein he was to speak about the conditions of Muslims in India, the Congress government of Assam has denied MP Maulana Badruddin Ajmal the political clearance necessary for MPs going abroad. Maulana Ajmal is seeking Prime Minister’s intervention to save his scheduled trip.
Assam United Democratic Front chief Maulana Ajmal, who represents Assam’s Dhubri constituency in the Lok Sabha, was to read a paper on the conditions o Muslims in India particularly Assam at the international conference in Geneva on November 12-13.
Though the state government has not told the MP the reason of the denial it is said that the government did not want home issues to be raised at a global conference abroad.
It is said that perfume baron Maulana Ajmal’s paper had already been approved by the US embassy in New Delhi and the organizers of the conference in Geneva. The Union Ministry of External Affairs had okayed his trip and sought political clearance from the state government for visa purposes.
Sources close to the MP told TCN that AUDF chief Maulana Ajmal has decided to write to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh seeking his urgent intervention in the case so that he could attend the conference. He will also write to the Union Ministries of Home Affairs and Minority Affairs.
In the recent Lok Sabha elections AUDF has emerged as the main rival of the ruling Congress in Assam. Though the two-year-old party could win only one seat it ensured the defeat of half a dozen candidates of the Congress. AUDF has 10 MLAs in the State Assembly.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
How the 'most moral army in the world' wages war on students
By Stuart Littlewood
If there's one thing the Israelis are good at it's making war on women and children.
They killed 952 Palestinian kiddies in their homeland between 2000 and the start of the Gaza blitzkrieg in December 2008 (according to B'Tselem statistics). They murdered at least 350 more during their Cast Lead onslaught and have kept Gaza under daily attack ever since. So the brave Israelis must have eliminated nearly 1400 youngsters by now. Would anyone care to guess how many they left bleeding, maimed and crippled?
The "most moral army in the world" also loves waging war against Palestinian university students. Not long ago I wrote about Merna, an honors student in her final year majoring in English. Israeli soldiers frequently rampaged through her Bethlehem refugee camp in the middle of the night, ransacking homes and arbitrarily arresting residents. They took away her family one by one. First her 14-year-old cousin and best friend was shot dead by an Israeli sniper while she sat outside her family home during a curfew.
Next the Israelis arrested her eldest brother, a 22 year-old artist, and imprisoned him for 4 years. Then they came back for Merna's 18-year-old brother. Not content with that the military came again, this time to take her youngest brother – the ‘baby’ of the family - just 16. These were the circumstances under which Merna had to study.
Israeli military law treats Palestinians as adults as soon as they reach 16, a flagrant violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Israeli youngsters, of course, are regarded as children until 18. Palestinians are dealt with by Israeli military courts, even when it's a civil matter. These courts ignore international laws and conventions, so there's no legal protection for individuals under Israeli military occupation.
As detention is based on secret information, which neither the detainee nor his lawyer is allowed to see, it is impossible to mount a proper defence. Besides, the Security Service always finds a bogus excuse to keep detainees locked up "in the greater interest of the security of Israel". Although detainees have the right to review and appeal, they are unable to challenge the evidence and check facts as all information presented to the Court is classified. So much for Israeli ‘justice’.
Faced with this mounting mental stress Merna, far from giving up, determined to carry on with her studies. The most moral army in the world may have robbed her brothers of an education, but she would still fight for hers.
To get to Bethlehem University, or any other, many students have to run the gauntlet of Israeli checkpoints. "Sometimes they take our ID cards and they spend ages writing down all the details, just to make us late," said one. Students are often made to remove shoes, belt and bags. "It's like an airport. Many times we are kept waiting outside for up to an hour, rain or shine, they don't care." The soldiers attempt to forcibly remove students’ clothes and they swear and shout sexual slurs at female students.
Some tell how they are sexually harassed on their way to university and spend the rest of the day worrying what the Israelis will do to them on their way home. The constant humiliation undermines student motivation and concentration.
Five years ago the Israelis forcibly removed four Birzeit University students from their studies in the West Bank and illegally sent them back to the Gaza Strip. All four were due to graduate by the end of that academic year. There was an outcry from around the world and the Israeli Army Legal Advisor was bombarded with faxes and letters demanding that the students be allowed to return to their studies.
The world's most moral army agreed that the students might be allowed to return to Birzeit if they signed a guarantee to permanently return to the Gaza Strip after completing their studies. This effectively exposed Israel's policy to impose a final separation between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, even though the two are internationally recognized as one integral territory. Under international law everyone has the right to freely choose their place of residence within a single territory, but since when did Israel give a damn about international law? The racist regime makes it virtually impossible for Gaza students to reach the eight Palestinian universities in the West Bank. In 1999 some 350 Gaza students were studying at Birzeit. Today there are almost none.
It was no great surprise, then, to hear from Bethlehem University a few days ago that Berlanty Azzam, a 4th year Business Administration student, was being held in detention by the Israeli military authorities with the intention of deporting her to Gaza "for trying to complete her studies at Bethlehem University.”
Berlanty, a Christian girl, is originally from Gaza but has lived in the West Bank since 2005 after receiving a travel permit from the military to cross from Gaza to the West Bank. She too is being robbed of her degree at the last minute. She was detained at the Container checkpoint between Bethlehem and Ramallah after attending a job interview in Ramallah.
The 21 year-old was due to graduate before Christmas. On Wednesday night the most moral army in the world blindfolded and handcuffed her, loaded her into a military jeep and drove her from Bethlehem to Gaza, despite assurances by the Israeli Military Legal Advisor’s office that she would not be deported before an attorney from Gisha (an Israeli NGO working to protect Palestinians’ freedom of movement) had the opportunity to petition the Israeli court for her return to classes in Bethlehem.
When they’d crossed the border the world’s most moral army dumped Berlanty in the darkness late at night and told her: “You are in Gaza.”
"Since 2005, I refrained from visiting my family in Gaza for fear that I would not be permitted to return to my studies in the West Bank," Berlanty told Gisha on her mobile phone before the soldiers confiscated it. "Now, just two months before graduation, I was arrested and taken to Gaza in the middle of the night, with no way to finish my degree."
Bethlehem University wants to mobilize people from around the world to protest. Who better to contact, I thought, than the Palestinian ambassador in London, Professor Manuel Hassassian, who happens to be a former vice-president of that excellent seat of learning? "Have you contacted the Israeli ambassador for an explanation to this outrage?" I emailed him.
Next day, having heard nothing, I emailed again: "Update... She has been removed to Gaza blindfolded and handcuffed! What is the Embassy doing about this please?" Another 24 hours have gone by and the silence is deafening. Still, it's not unusual for the Palestinian embassy to be fast asleep, out to lunch or off on holiday and no-one covering.
I had of course simultaneously emailed the Israeli ambassador Ron Prosor asking him, please, to make enquiries. "On the face of it, this seems a senseless outrage. The student concerned has, I believe, just started her final year. I wonder what Mr Prosor or Mr Netanyahu would say if the education of their sons and daughters or grandchildren was disrupted in this manner." And next day, having heard nothing, I sent the same update about Berlanty being blindfolded and handcuffed. Another 24 hours have passed... silence here too; not even the courtesy of an acknowledgement from Israel’s press office, which usually responds like lightning to anything with news value.
If this had been a Jewish girl deprived of her university degree and life chances Israeli embassies around the world would be instantly on the warpath hurling accusations of religious hatred and anti-semitism. But it's the Jewish state screwing up the young life of a Christian, so that's alright then.
-- Stuart Littlewood is author of the book Radio Free Palestine, which tells the plight of the Palestinians under occupation.
If there's one thing the Israelis are good at it's making war on women and children.
They killed 952 Palestinian kiddies in their homeland between 2000 and the start of the Gaza blitzkrieg in December 2008 (according to B'Tselem statistics). They murdered at least 350 more during their Cast Lead onslaught and have kept Gaza under daily attack ever since. So the brave Israelis must have eliminated nearly 1400 youngsters by now. Would anyone care to guess how many they left bleeding, maimed and crippled?
The "most moral army in the world" also loves waging war against Palestinian university students. Not long ago I wrote about Merna, an honors student in her final year majoring in English. Israeli soldiers frequently rampaged through her Bethlehem refugee camp in the middle of the night, ransacking homes and arbitrarily arresting residents. They took away her family one by one. First her 14-year-old cousin and best friend was shot dead by an Israeli sniper while she sat outside her family home during a curfew.
Next the Israelis arrested her eldest brother, a 22 year-old artist, and imprisoned him for 4 years. Then they came back for Merna's 18-year-old brother. Not content with that the military came again, this time to take her youngest brother – the ‘baby’ of the family - just 16. These were the circumstances under which Merna had to study.
Israeli military law treats Palestinians as adults as soon as they reach 16, a flagrant violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Israeli youngsters, of course, are regarded as children until 18. Palestinians are dealt with by Israeli military courts, even when it's a civil matter. These courts ignore international laws and conventions, so there's no legal protection for individuals under Israeli military occupation.
As detention is based on secret information, which neither the detainee nor his lawyer is allowed to see, it is impossible to mount a proper defence. Besides, the Security Service always finds a bogus excuse to keep detainees locked up "in the greater interest of the security of Israel". Although detainees have the right to review and appeal, they are unable to challenge the evidence and check facts as all information presented to the Court is classified. So much for Israeli ‘justice’.
Faced with this mounting mental stress Merna, far from giving up, determined to carry on with her studies. The most moral army in the world may have robbed her brothers of an education, but she would still fight for hers.
To get to Bethlehem University, or any other, many students have to run the gauntlet of Israeli checkpoints. "Sometimes they take our ID cards and they spend ages writing down all the details, just to make us late," said one. Students are often made to remove shoes, belt and bags. "It's like an airport. Many times we are kept waiting outside for up to an hour, rain or shine, they don't care." The soldiers attempt to forcibly remove students’ clothes and they swear and shout sexual slurs at female students.
Some tell how they are sexually harassed on their way to university and spend the rest of the day worrying what the Israelis will do to them on their way home. The constant humiliation undermines student motivation and concentration.
Five years ago the Israelis forcibly removed four Birzeit University students from their studies in the West Bank and illegally sent them back to the Gaza Strip. All four were due to graduate by the end of that academic year. There was an outcry from around the world and the Israeli Army Legal Advisor was bombarded with faxes and letters demanding that the students be allowed to return to their studies.
The world's most moral army agreed that the students might be allowed to return to Birzeit if they signed a guarantee to permanently return to the Gaza Strip after completing their studies. This effectively exposed Israel's policy to impose a final separation between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, even though the two are internationally recognized as one integral territory. Under international law everyone has the right to freely choose their place of residence within a single territory, but since when did Israel give a damn about international law? The racist regime makes it virtually impossible for Gaza students to reach the eight Palestinian universities in the West Bank. In 1999 some 350 Gaza students were studying at Birzeit. Today there are almost none.
It was no great surprise, then, to hear from Bethlehem University a few days ago that Berlanty Azzam, a 4th year Business Administration student, was being held in detention by the Israeli military authorities with the intention of deporting her to Gaza "for trying to complete her studies at Bethlehem University.”
Berlanty, a Christian girl, is originally from Gaza but has lived in the West Bank since 2005 after receiving a travel permit from the military to cross from Gaza to the West Bank. She too is being robbed of her degree at the last minute. She was detained at the Container checkpoint between Bethlehem and Ramallah after attending a job interview in Ramallah.
The 21 year-old was due to graduate before Christmas. On Wednesday night the most moral army in the world blindfolded and handcuffed her, loaded her into a military jeep and drove her from Bethlehem to Gaza, despite assurances by the Israeli Military Legal Advisor’s office that she would not be deported before an attorney from Gisha (an Israeli NGO working to protect Palestinians’ freedom of movement) had the opportunity to petition the Israeli court for her return to classes in Bethlehem.
When they’d crossed the border the world’s most moral army dumped Berlanty in the darkness late at night and told her: “You are in Gaza.”
"Since 2005, I refrained from visiting my family in Gaza for fear that I would not be permitted to return to my studies in the West Bank," Berlanty told Gisha on her mobile phone before the soldiers confiscated it. "Now, just two months before graduation, I was arrested and taken to Gaza in the middle of the night, with no way to finish my degree."
Bethlehem University wants to mobilize people from around the world to protest. Who better to contact, I thought, than the Palestinian ambassador in London, Professor Manuel Hassassian, who happens to be a former vice-president of that excellent seat of learning? "Have you contacted the Israeli ambassador for an explanation to this outrage?" I emailed him.
Next day, having heard nothing, I emailed again: "Update... She has been removed to Gaza blindfolded and handcuffed! What is the Embassy doing about this please?" Another 24 hours have gone by and the silence is deafening. Still, it's not unusual for the Palestinian embassy to be fast asleep, out to lunch or off on holiday and no-one covering.
I had of course simultaneously emailed the Israeli ambassador Ron Prosor asking him, please, to make enquiries. "On the face of it, this seems a senseless outrage. The student concerned has, I believe, just started her final year. I wonder what Mr Prosor or Mr Netanyahu would say if the education of their sons and daughters or grandchildren was disrupted in this manner." And next day, having heard nothing, I sent the same update about Berlanty being blindfolded and handcuffed. Another 24 hours have passed... silence here too; not even the courtesy of an acknowledgement from Israel’s press office, which usually responds like lightning to anything with news value.
If this had been a Jewish girl deprived of her university degree and life chances Israeli embassies around the world would be instantly on the warpath hurling accusations of religious hatred and anti-semitism. But it's the Jewish state screwing up the young life of a Christian, so that's alright then.
-- Stuart Littlewood is author of the book Radio Free Palestine, which tells the plight of the Palestinians under occupation.
Do advocacy work, Ali Anwar tells Indian Muslims in the US
By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net,
Boston: Ali Anwar Ansari, a Member of Parliament (MP) of India, encouraged Indian Muslims living in the United States to take part in advocacy work using modern methodologies. He said, “Spoken from the United States your voice will carry more weight.” He was speaking at a function organized by the Boston chapter of advocacy group Indian Muslims Council-USA (IMC-USA) on Sunday.
“In India, Muslims are losing political representation,” said Mr. Ansari. He explained, in the present Lok Sabha, only 30 Muslim MPs are there, which is a reduction from 39 Muslims in the last Lok Sabha. Out of 543 Lok Sabha seats, 119 are reserved for candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC). Since Muslims are excluded from SC list by the Presidential Order of 1950, this is a major source of Muslim political disenfranchisement. Similarly, 1050 Assembly constituencies are reserved and out of bound for Muslims.
Though there are many Muslims who have the same historical and social background as Dalit Hindus but these Dalit Muslims have been excluded from getting the benefits provided for the SCs.
Ali Anwar who became Rajya Sabha MP in 2006 also shed light on his march from journalism to launching a movement for the benefit of Dalit Muslims. He along with others founded All India Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz to champion the cause of Dalit Muslims whom he calls “Pasmanda” or downtrodden.
During the well-attended program, Ali Anwar explained his opposition to Women’s Reservation Bill and support to the Central Madrasa Board Bill.
He also said that we have to look within our own community and see how we can reform ourselves. Problems of casteism exist among Muslims that we must recognize and reform. “The work of reform is not for one day, but needs to be done on a regular basis,” said Mr. Ansari.
He asked the audience members to use their professional training and intellectual capacity in solving problems of Muslims in India.
He ended his speech by encouraging Indian Muslims living in the United States to play a bigger role in helping the Muslims of India. “Muslims always do politics of emotions though politics require brain and not heart.”
President of Boston chapter of IMC-USA Seema Salim and Dr. Omar Khalidi also spoke on the occasion.
Mr. Ansari was in the United States to participate in United Nations General Assembly session in New York. On Saturday, he attended another IMC event organized by its Maryland-Virginia chapter in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Link:
http://www.imc-usa.org
Boston: Ali Anwar Ansari, a Member of Parliament (MP) of India, encouraged Indian Muslims living in the United States to take part in advocacy work using modern methodologies. He said, “Spoken from the United States your voice will carry more weight.” He was speaking at a function organized by the Boston chapter of advocacy group Indian Muslims Council-USA (IMC-USA) on Sunday.
“In India, Muslims are losing political representation,” said Mr. Ansari. He explained, in the present Lok Sabha, only 30 Muslim MPs are there, which is a reduction from 39 Muslims in the last Lok Sabha. Out of 543 Lok Sabha seats, 119 are reserved for candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC). Since Muslims are excluded from SC list by the Presidential Order of 1950, this is a major source of Muslim political disenfranchisement. Similarly, 1050 Assembly constituencies are reserved and out of bound for Muslims.
Though there are many Muslims who have the same historical and social background as Dalit Hindus but these Dalit Muslims have been excluded from getting the benefits provided for the SCs.
Ali Anwar who became Rajya Sabha MP in 2006 also shed light on his march from journalism to launching a movement for the benefit of Dalit Muslims. He along with others founded All India Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz to champion the cause of Dalit Muslims whom he calls “Pasmanda” or downtrodden.
During the well-attended program, Ali Anwar explained his opposition to Women’s Reservation Bill and support to the Central Madrasa Board Bill.
He also said that we have to look within our own community and see how we can reform ourselves. Problems of casteism exist among Muslims that we must recognize and reform. “The work of reform is not for one day, but needs to be done on a regular basis,” said Mr. Ansari.
He asked the audience members to use their professional training and intellectual capacity in solving problems of Muslims in India.
He ended his speech by encouraging Indian Muslims living in the United States to play a bigger role in helping the Muslims of India. “Muslims always do politics of emotions though politics require brain and not heart.”
President of Boston chapter of IMC-USA Seema Salim and Dr. Omar Khalidi also spoke on the occasion.
Mr. Ansari was in the United States to participate in United Nations General Assembly session in New York. On Saturday, he attended another IMC event organized by its Maryland-Virginia chapter in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Link:
http://www.imc-usa.org
Illegal Israeli Settlers Take Control of East Jerusalem Palestinian Home
Settlers take control of East Jerusalem home
Published today (updated) 03/11/2009 13:41
Jerusalem – Ma’an –
Illegal Israeli settlers arrogated the home of the Al-Kurd family in the Shaikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem on Tuesday, residents of the area said.
About 30 settlers were seen entering the house and throwing the family's furniture into the street. The settlers have refused to leave the building and the Israeli occupation government police blocked members of the Al-Kurd family from entering the area. Witnesses also reported heated arguments between police and Palestinian residents.
Residents said the settlers moved into the house in violation of an Israeli court order issued nine years ago when Jewish organizations put forward a claim that they in fact owned the property. Two other buildings belonging to the Al-Kurd and Al-Ghawi families were also targeted in the claim.
Locals also said the court had ordered no one to enter one section of the multi-unit building because it was built without a construction permit.
In early August Israeli police forced more than 50 members of two Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, allowing settlers to move in. The evictions went forward despite near-universal condemnation from the international community, including Israel’s closest ally, the US.
Israel demolishes two Palestinian owned homes in Jerusalem, damages a third
Monday November 02, 2009 15:34 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News & Agencies
The Israeli occupation government municipality of Jerusalem demolished on Monday two Palestinian owned homes and damaged a third.
The center of Economic and Social Rights in Jerusalem announced that the houses were located near the old city and were the home of some 24 people.
The center added that police forces arrived with the municipality bulldozers and forced the two families out then demolished the two homes. An old lady was taken to hospital after she was attacked by police officers, witnesses told local media.
The witnesses added that while bulldozers are demolishing the two homes a third one next to them was damaged. The Israeli municipality says the homes lack the proper licensing.
Since Israel occupied the city of Jerusalem in 1967 it has rarely given Palestinian residents permissions to build homes. Meanwhile it continues to build Jewish settlements in and around Jerusalem, an act which is illegal according to international law.
Published today (updated) 03/11/2009 13:41
Jerusalem – Ma’an –
Illegal Israeli settlers arrogated the home of the Al-Kurd family in the Shaikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem on Tuesday, residents of the area said.
About 30 settlers were seen entering the house and throwing the family's furniture into the street. The settlers have refused to leave the building and the Israeli occupation government police blocked members of the Al-Kurd family from entering the area. Witnesses also reported heated arguments between police and Palestinian residents.
Residents said the settlers moved into the house in violation of an Israeli court order issued nine years ago when Jewish organizations put forward a claim that they in fact owned the property. Two other buildings belonging to the Al-Kurd and Al-Ghawi families were also targeted in the claim.
Locals also said the court had ordered no one to enter one section of the multi-unit building because it was built without a construction permit.
In early August Israeli police forced more than 50 members of two Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, allowing settlers to move in. The evictions went forward despite near-universal condemnation from the international community, including Israel’s closest ally, the US.
Israel demolishes two Palestinian owned homes in Jerusalem, damages a third
Monday November 02, 2009 15:34 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News & Agencies
The Israeli occupation government municipality of Jerusalem demolished on Monday two Palestinian owned homes and damaged a third.
The center of Economic and Social Rights in Jerusalem announced that the houses were located near the old city and were the home of some 24 people.
The center added that police forces arrived with the municipality bulldozers and forced the two families out then demolished the two homes. An old lady was taken to hospital after she was attacked by police officers, witnesses told local media.
The witnesses added that while bulldozers are demolishing the two homes a third one next to them was damaged. The Israeli municipality says the homes lack the proper licensing.
Since Israel occupied the city of Jerusalem in 1967 it has rarely given Palestinian residents permissions to build homes. Meanwhile it continues to build Jewish settlements in and around Jerusalem, an act which is illegal according to international law.
In Reaction to Clinton's Support for Israeli Theft of Palestinian Lands, Resistance Organizations Slam US Bias, Call for Renewal of the Uprising
Palestinian alliance slams US bias in favor of Israel, calls for intifada
[ 03/11/2009 - 09:49 AM ]
DAMASCUS, (PIC)--
The alliance of Palestinian factions in Damascus on Monday deplored the American position biased in favor of the Israeli occupation government, which was voiced recently by secretary of state Hillary Clinton and called on all forces of the Palestinian people to renew the intifada and escalate resistance activities against the occupation.
In a press statement issued on the anniversary of the ill-fated Balfour declaration, the alliance stressed the need to resume the national reconciliation dialog away from the Zio-American pressures and blackmail.
The alliance also urged all spectra of the Palestinian people at home and in Diaspora to be keen on the national unity based on the adherence to all historical and national rights and the option of resistance.
It also highlighted the Palestinian right to resist the occupation and confront the ongoing attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause under the guise of the American solutions and promises, and the frivolous negotiations.
In another context, Anwar Raja, the spokesman for the popular front for the liberation of Palestine-general command (PFLP-GC), stated Sunday that the alliance of Palestinian factions is making considerable efforts to declare a comprehensive Palestinian authoritative body to save the Palestinian cause from deteriorating and to protect the resistance.
Raja explained that the idea of establishing an authoritative body is a natural result of the one-sided policies pursued by the Palestinian Authority.
He stressed that the establishment of this body became an urgent need and a transitional step to restore and rebuild the Palestine liberation organization (PLO) on the basis of the resistance.
[ 03/11/2009 - 09:49 AM ]
DAMASCUS, (PIC)--
The alliance of Palestinian factions in Damascus on Monday deplored the American position biased in favor of the Israeli occupation government, which was voiced recently by secretary of state Hillary Clinton and called on all forces of the Palestinian people to renew the intifada and escalate resistance activities against the occupation.
In a press statement issued on the anniversary of the ill-fated Balfour declaration, the alliance stressed the need to resume the national reconciliation dialog away from the Zio-American pressures and blackmail.
The alliance also urged all spectra of the Palestinian people at home and in Diaspora to be keen on the national unity based on the adherence to all historical and national rights and the option of resistance.
It also highlighted the Palestinian right to resist the occupation and confront the ongoing attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause under the guise of the American solutions and promises, and the frivolous negotiations.
In another context, Anwar Raja, the spokesman for the popular front for the liberation of Palestine-general command (PFLP-GC), stated Sunday that the alliance of Palestinian factions is making considerable efforts to declare a comprehensive Palestinian authoritative body to save the Palestinian cause from deteriorating and to protect the resistance.
Raja explained that the idea of establishing an authoritative body is a natural result of the one-sided policies pursued by the Palestinian Authority.
He stressed that the establishment of this body became an urgent need and a transitional step to restore and rebuild the Palestine liberation organization (PLO) on the basis of the resistance.
Muslim clerics support Vande Mataram fatwa, BJP calls it 'anti-national'
By IANS,
Deoband/Lucknow : The Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind Tuesday supported a decree against the national song "Vande Mataram" on the grounds that some of its lines were "against the religious principles of Islam". The move drew fierce criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which termed the move "anti-national".
The resolution asking Muslims not to sing the national song was passed at the national convention of the Jamiat, one of the largest groups of Muslim clerics in India, held at Darul Uloom Deoband, one the largest Muslim seminaries in South Asia, about 150 km from the national capital.
Home Minister P. Chidambaram was present at the convention, which was also attended by some Hindu priests.
Muslim clerics had issued the fatwa, or decree, against the song in 2006. They contended that "Vande Mataram" means "Mother (India), I bow to thee!".
Terming the decree against the singing of the national song as "anti-national", the BJP said Islamic organisations should desist from issuing such fatwas that are against the nation's interest.
"We oppose the fatwa and will not tolerate such religious decrees at any cost. They are against our national values," BJP national general secretary Kalraj Mishra told reporters at a press conference in Lucknow.
"As such fatwas stand against national integrity, we all should stand united against them," he added.
The BJP also strongly criticised the Congress ministers for participating in such a convention where the fatwa against the national song was issued.
"Participation of Congress ministers like Home Minister P. Chidambaram is unfortunate. It clearly reflects approach of the Congress party that it doesn't mind compromising with anti-national organisations just to appease the minority community," said the BJP's state unit president Ramapati Ram Tripathi.
"Interestingly, the Congress leaders are singing the national song since 1896 and had even organised a programme in 2006 on its 100th anniversary, but now it's truly shocking and surprising as they themselves are supporting anti-national organisations that are against Vande Matram," he added.
However, Muslim clerics were firm on their stand.
"Some of its lines are of course against the religious principles of Islam. We cannot bow before anybody other than the Allah. It is un-Islamic," Moulana Muizuddin of the Jamiat said.
"Islam teaches us to worship only one god, Allah. We are Indians and there are other ways to express our feelings for the nation rather than bowing before it. Loving your country doesn't only mean worshipping it," Muizuddin told IANS.
"We love our mothers. Islam doesn't even permit bowing before mother. We love the Prophet but we cannot even bow before him."
Maulana Salman, who teaches at the Deoband seminary, said: "We are true Muslims and true Indians. There is no doubt about that. But we no longer remain Muslims when we offer our prayers to anybody else than the Allah. Patriotism is not only about singing songs. We are and will remain Indians without singing Vande Mataram."
Deoband/Lucknow : The Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind Tuesday supported a decree against the national song "Vande Mataram" on the grounds that some of its lines were "against the religious principles of Islam". The move drew fierce criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which termed the move "anti-national".
The resolution asking Muslims not to sing the national song was passed at the national convention of the Jamiat, one of the largest groups of Muslim clerics in India, held at Darul Uloom Deoband, one the largest Muslim seminaries in South Asia, about 150 km from the national capital.
Home Minister P. Chidambaram was present at the convention, which was also attended by some Hindu priests.
Muslim clerics had issued the fatwa, or decree, against the song in 2006. They contended that "Vande Mataram" means "Mother (India), I bow to thee!".
Terming the decree against the singing of the national song as "anti-national", the BJP said Islamic organisations should desist from issuing such fatwas that are against the nation's interest.
"We oppose the fatwa and will not tolerate such religious decrees at any cost. They are against our national values," BJP national general secretary Kalraj Mishra told reporters at a press conference in Lucknow.
"As such fatwas stand against national integrity, we all should stand united against them," he added.
The BJP also strongly criticised the Congress ministers for participating in such a convention where the fatwa against the national song was issued.
"Participation of Congress ministers like Home Minister P. Chidambaram is unfortunate. It clearly reflects approach of the Congress party that it doesn't mind compromising with anti-national organisations just to appease the minority community," said the BJP's state unit president Ramapati Ram Tripathi.
"Interestingly, the Congress leaders are singing the national song since 1896 and had even organised a programme in 2006 on its 100th anniversary, but now it's truly shocking and surprising as they themselves are supporting anti-national organisations that are against Vande Matram," he added.
However, Muslim clerics were firm on their stand.
"Some of its lines are of course against the religious principles of Islam. We cannot bow before anybody other than the Allah. It is un-Islamic," Moulana Muizuddin of the Jamiat said.
"Islam teaches us to worship only one god, Allah. We are Indians and there are other ways to express our feelings for the nation rather than bowing before it. Loving your country doesn't only mean worshipping it," Muizuddin told IANS.
"We love our mothers. Islam doesn't even permit bowing before mother. We love the Prophet but we cannot even bow before him."
Maulana Salman, who teaches at the Deoband seminary, said: "We are true Muslims and true Indians. There is no doubt about that. But we no longer remain Muslims when we offer our prayers to anybody else than the Allah. Patriotism is not only about singing songs. We are and will remain Indians without singing Vande Mataram."
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