Today's Top Islamic News (DAILY)

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Gaffe-prone Berlusconi says he paid 'judges'
Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:36:26 GMT

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi says he is the world's most prosecuted man.
In yet another trademark gaffe, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi says he has paid millions of euros to consultants and judges during his court appearances.

The Italian magnate, who is famous for his numerous blunders, was forced to quickly correct himself, saying in a press conference that he had spent 200 million euros on "consultants and lawyers."

Berlusconi also called himself the most prosecuted man in the world with making over 2,500 court appearances and spending millions on his defense.

"I am absolutely the person who has been most persecuted by judges of all times, in the entire history of the world," he said Friday after judges lifted his immunity from prosecution.

Last week, a Milan court ordered his media empire Fininvest to pay a record fine of 750 million euros after ruling that it had obtained a favorable legal decision through bribery.

The decision came after Italy's Constitutional Court on Wednesday overturned a law which was shielding Berlusconi from prosecution while in office.

The verdict paved the way for two corruption trials to resume against Berlusconi.

So far, the Italian premier has faced charges including corruption, tax fraud, false accounting and illegally financing political parties. Although some initial judgments have gone against him, he has never been definitively convicted.

In the latest cases, he is accused of paying his former British tax lawyer, David Mills, 600,000 dollars to give false evidence in two trials in the 1990s. Mills was convicted in February of accepting the payment.

Another pending case against Berlusconi involves allegations that his Mediaset television empire overcharged for broadcasting rights.

The 73-year-old billionaire media tycoon turned politician has seen his popularity ratings drop in the past few weeks as he is also facing a string of sex scandals.

When asked about calls by critics for his resignation as his personal and legal problems damage the country's image in the world, he said, "the reality is completely the opposite."

"In my opinion, and not only mine, I am the best prime minister we can find today," asserted Berlusconi.

AGB/MD

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Hezbollah hails Saudi-Syrian rapprochement
Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:58:35 GMT
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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (R) receives Saudi King Abdullah (L) in Damascus on October 7, 2009.
Hezbollah has lauded the Saudi-Syrian rapprochement, which laid special emphasis on unity as an important element for the Arab world.

In a statement released on Saturday, Lebanon's resistance movement underlined the importance of the move and expressed hope that it would help clear the atmosphere among Arabs and foster rapprochement.

The move would bring about new horizons of common action that serve the causes of Arabs and Muslims and reflect positively on the future of Lebanon, it added.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, described the Saudi-Syrian summit as one of 'exceptional importance' due to its positive effects on Arab causes at present, particularly in light of the massive challenges facing the Arab and Muslim world, such as the Israeli aggression against Lebanon and Palestine, and the escalating violation of the sanctity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israel.

Moreover, the movement stated that the only practical approach to confront Israeli threats is to bolster elements of unity and Arab solidarity through supporting the peoples' rights and defending their land.

Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdullaziz paid a two-day official visit to Damascus last week and held ground-breaking talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in an attempt to open a new chapter in bilateral relations.

The two sides had severed ties following the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri.

Hariri was assassinated on February 14, 2005, when explosives equivalent to around 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) of TNT were detonated as his motorcade drove past the St. George Hotel in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. Riyadh accused Syria of involvement in the terrorist act, while Damascus vehemently dismissed the unfounded allegations.

MP/SS/MMN

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French culture min. admits paying for sex
Sat, 10 Oct 2009 11:37:54 GMT

French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand
The scandal surrounding the French culture minister takes a new turn as he confesses to paying for prostitution but denies pedophilia.

In a televised Thursday night interview, Frédéric Mitterrand said that during his trips to Thailand to cruise the "slave markets" and brothels for boys and paid sexual encounters, adding the boys in question were not minors but "youths".

Frédéric Mitterrand, the openly homosexual nephew of former French president François Mitterrand, added that homosexuals call all men "boys".

In a 2005 autobiographical book, however, the minister who is now facing public disgrace writes that he got "into the habit of paying for boys".

"The profusion of young, very attractive and immediately available boys put me in a state of desire that I no longer needed to restrain or hide," he says in a passage of the book called "La mauvaise vie" or "The Bad Life".

"All these rituals of the market for youths, the slave market excite me enormously… One could judge this abominable spectacle from a moral standpoint but it pleases me beyond the reasonable," he adds.

The 62 year-old Mitterand, claimed that although he described them as "young boys", he went to Thailand to have sex with prostitutes his "own age".

Paying for prostitution is not illegal in France.

During the interview, Mitterand said that he condemns "sex tourism", and called it "a disgrace".

"The book is in no way an apology for sex tourism, even if one chapter is a journey through that hell, with all the fascination that hell can inspire," he said.

Mitterrand's book came back to haunt him after he offered an spirited defense of filmmaker Roman Polanski, who is in Swiss custody after years of running from US authorities for a guilty plea he gave to charges of raping a 13 year-old girl.

Mitterand has described Polanski's arrest in Switzerland and possible extradition to the US as "terrible". He has also stressed that he would not set down because of his comments about the filmmaker.

Despite strong calls for his resignation or removal from both lefties and righties, members of Nicolas Sarkozy's inner circle have stepped up in Mitterand's defense.

Earlier this week, a top aide to the French president, Henri Guaino, told France 2 television that the media scandal was "pathetic", arguing that there was no need for Mitterrand to leave the cabinet.

"When there is a controversy as pathetic as this, with so much delay, I don't think there should be such drastic consequences," Guaino said.

The French far-right Front National has launched an online petition to call for Mitterand's resignation. The Socialist opposition party has also called it appalling that an abusive pedophile was serving as a cabinet minister.

"I find it shocking that a man can justify sex tourism under the cover of a literary account," a top Socialist figure, Benoît Hamon, said, according to a report posted by The Daily Telegraph.

Mitterrand has responded to the attacks by saying that it is "honor" for him to be dragged through "the mud by the National Front."

MJ/DT

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WASHINGTON — Religious scholars, politicians and experts agree that a Muslim dialogue initiative for the Christian world needs action to address all the challenges still standing between the followers of the two Abrahamic faiths.
"I think what we are addressing… is how to develop out of A Common Word a common work together and common partnership," John Esposito, professor of International Affairs and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, told IslamOnline.net.

Esposito was among a galaxy of international religious scholars and experts participating in a two-day conference sponsored by Georgetown’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and the office of Georgetown University President.

The conference, "A Common Word Between Us and You: A Global Agenda for Change", is a follow-up on an October 2007 letter from Muslim scholars to the world's Christian clergy urging dialogue to declare the common ground between Islam and Christianity.

But many believe that it is high time to move forward from ideas and initiatives to action.

"I think what’s missing is that the ideas being discussed need to be brought to the masses," Dalia Mogahed, an advisor on President Barack Obama’s Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood partnership, told IOL.

"It is something that has been discussed over and over, though it is the difference between success and failure."

The 2007 letter, signed by 138 Muslim scholars and dignitaries from 43 countries, called for the two faiths to reach a better understanding based on two common principles: love of God and love of one’s neighbor.

Challenges

Evangelical Lutheran Church Bishop of Palestine and Jordan Munib Younan recognizes the need for an action plan.

"What we have to put together is a program over action," he told IOL.

"We have to speak together for example on how can we Christians and Muslims work together to eradicate poverty and combat extremism, all kinds of extremism Muslim Christian and Jewish," he asserted.

"The more we have joint activities the more we can show a love of God and love to our neighbor."

But the scholars and experts are under no illusions that despite the strenuous efforts for dialogue, the road still has many blocks.

"The main challenge is the lack of trust between the two communities," regrets Mohamed Elsanousi, Director of Communications & Community Outreach for the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).

He believes that the two sides on the dialogue table are still not speaking with one language.

"We also do not need to have hidden agenda or hidden intentions. Our dialogue should be based on honesty," insists the Muslim activist.

"It must say to the other it is not my intentions to convert you to Christianity but my intentions is to reach with you a level of understanding and trust that let us together serve humanity at large."

Mogahed, a senior analyst and executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, believes history and the lack of trust could be a very dangerous combination for interfaith dialogue.

"These things that we found in our research shape the perception of the other more than theological problems.

"We found in our research that in the Muslim world, people say that they want better relations with the West but don’t believe the West cares about them. In the same time Americans and Europeans while they care about better relations, they don’t believe the other side cares."

Dr. Esposito recognizes that history is one of the issues that separate followers of the two faiths.

"There are also memories of conflicts. There are the fundamentalists, those who are very dismissive of the other side. We have people who are anti-Muslims, anti-Jewish and anti Christians."

But Sheikh Mustafa Ceric, the grand Mufti of Bosnia-Herzegovina who has won international recognition for his efforts to promote understanding among the world's religions, remains optimistic.

"The idea of a common word is more of opening the door for challenges more than closing the door on challenges," he told IOL.

"Dialogue is a process of life."

Source: IslamOnline

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CAIRO – US Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders are coming together this week in the south-central state of Oklahoma to break bread at an interfaith festival. "We celebrate the differences between us, and all that we hold in common as well", Rev. Wendy Lambert, an associate pastor at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church told NewsOK paper Saturday, October 10.
The church will host the “Food and Festival of Faith” on Wednesday, October 14, to showcase joint traditions between followers of the three faiths.

Participants will feature samples of different foods consumed by followers of the three faiths.

They will also learn about various Christian, Jewish and Muslim traditions.

The participants will also come together at a workshop service combining the three faiths.

"We really believe that God calls us to live as people of peace," said Lambert.

Common Ground

The planned food festival is greeted as an engine for promoting integration.

"In order for us all to get to know each other and to get to know our traditions,” said Marjan Seirafi-Pour, a member of the Oklahoma City-area Muslim community.

“I think it’s very important to have events like this."

Seirafi-Pour reiterated her pleasure to be part of the festival bringing the three Abrahamic faiths together.

She believes such festivals help in bringing ideas and traditions closer to share a common ground.

Lambert agrees.

"We have neighbors of the Jewish and Muslim traditions," Lambert said.

"We believe this will be a fun night to celebrate together."

Many calls for interfaith dialogue were launched by groups representing the three religions following the September 11 attacks.

Last November, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz opened an international conference on promoting interfaith dialogue with the participation of several world leaders, including the Israeli president.

Earlier, King Abdullah presided over a Spain-hosted gathering of Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists, which concluded with a call for greater cooperation among religions.

In 2007, some 138 Muslim scholars and dignitaries from around the world sent in October 2007 an open letter to the world's Christian clergy, including Pope Benedict, for dialogue based on commonalities between Islam and Christianity.

In February 2008, a galaxy of prominent Muslim scholars and interfaith experts issued an open letter for the world's Jewish community calling for a dialogue to improve relations between Jews and Muslims who have common ground of shared beliefs.

Source: IslamOnline

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CAIRO – US troops have shut two military outposts in northern Afghanistan following a deadly Taliban attack, in a move said to be part of a policy to reposition troops into populated areas, reported the Los Angeles Times on Saturday, October 10. "We've been planning to realign our forces to better protect the (Afghan) population for months," Army spokesman Maj. T.G. Taylor said.
"The closures are part of that realignment."

The US evacuated troops from two outposts in the Kamdesh district of Nuristan province.

Military officials said departing US troops destroyed what was left of the outposts before their evacuation.

Washington says the closure is a pre-planned policy to “reposition” the US-led troops from remote regions into populated areas in Afghanistan.

Top US commander in Afghanistan Gen. Stanley McChrystal has said he is in favor of pulling troops from remote areas to concentrate efforts on securing urban areas.

The closure came a week after a deadly Taliban attack on the outposts, which left eight US troops and two Afghan soldiers dead.

The growing Taliban attacks have made 2009 the worst year for the US-led foreign troops since the 2001 US-led invasion.

Some 394 soldiers have died so far this year, 236 of them Americans, according to a tally of coalition deaths by the independent icasualties.org website.

More than 1,430 soldiers have died since 2001.

Taliban Flag

The Taliban claimed control of the Kamdesh district after the US troop withdrawal.

“This is another victory for Taliban,” spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said, reported The Times.

“This means they (US troops) are not coming back.”

The spokesman said that the Taliban have flown their flag over the US outposts.

“We have control of another district in eastern Afghanistan.”

The Taliban has launched a protracted guerrilla warfare against the US-led forces and the Kabul government of Hamid Karzai since the 2001 US invasion.

The Taliban has stressed that they are fighting to force the foreign troops out of Afghanistan, stressing that the Afghan group poses no threat to the West.

"We did not have any agenda to harm other countries including Europe nor we have such agenda today," the Taliban said in a statement, marking the 8th anniversary of the US invasion.

"Still, if you want to turn the country of the proud and pious Afghans into a colony, then know that we have an unwavering determination and have braced for a prolonged war."

Source: IslamOnline

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The US military says it will soon complete building a massive 'bunker buster' bomb that can penetrate deep underground facilities of so-called hostile states.

"It is under development right now and should be deployable in the coming months," the Pentagon's press secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters on Wednesday.

According to Morrell, the apparently non-nuclear 30,000-pound massive ordnance penetrator (MOP) is designed 'to defeat hardened facilities used by hostile states to protect weapons of mass destruction'.

"I don't think anybody can divine potential targets or anything of that nature. This is just a capability that we think is necessary given the world we live in these days," he said.

"The reality is that the world we live in is one in which there are people who seek to build weapons of mass destruction and they seek to do so in a clandestine fashion."

Following the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, the administration of former US president George W. Bush submitted a request to Congress for funding a project to build a 'Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator', or 'RNEP'.

Although the new version of nuclear bunker busters was never built, the US Department of Energy was given funds to work on the project. Air Force Research Laboratory also conducted tests as part of the project.

While the RNEP project seemed to be canceled in October 2005, Jane's Information Group speculates that work may have continued under another name.

In September 2008, US Congress approved a plan to sell Israel 1,000 bunker-buster bombs, of the GPS Guided Bomb Unit-39 (GBU-39).

Later in January 2009, the Times reported that the Israeli government had asked Bush to sell Tel Aviv new bunker-busters.

Around the same time, the Jerusalem Post also reported that a shipment of the weapons had arrived the previous month, adding that the bombs had been used in the three-week military onslaught in Gaza, which claimed the lives of over 1500 Palestinians.

Israel is believed to be currently housing at least 100 bunker-buster bombs.

Source: Press TV

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Why does Obama get a prize whilst Bush gets shoes

By Iyad Burnat

Today, when I came home from our nonviolent demonstration in Bil'in, after the soldiers shot tear gas and after seeing the violence of the Israeli soldiers, I heard that President Obama got the Nobel Peace Prize. When I heard this from the media I started to go crazy. I asked myself why. The Americans are still in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Palestine is still occupied. In the recent news I saw that the Israeli soldiers closed Jerusalem, and I heard that many people were injured. We haven't seen anything changed. Why didn't the committee give the prize to Bush? I remember nine years ago Bush had a good speech about the establishment of a Palestinian state in the year of 2005. We saw after the speech that Sharon invaded Al Aqsa mosque, and the American army invaded Iraq. Why didn't you give the prize to this man at that time, and he got shoes instead? This is injustice!

I am so sorry Mr. Bush. You worked very hard, eight years with killing children, starting wars and supporting the occupation, and they gave the prize to another man.

I ask you our friends in the Nobel Committee, why didn't you choose quality? I think your prize makes the people more violent. Do you think that Obama can make peace, and why didn't you wait until he actually made the peace? Maybe he will invade another country. Sorry, but we are still under occupation and it makes us very crazy because we see every day and night the suffering of our children, and it's killing us. We hear in the speeches that the president talks about peace, but nothing has changed. To deserve a Nobel prize you need to work, not talk. We need the work to be done now, not tomorrow. We need our land now, not tomorrow.

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Partisan divide deepens on US war in Afghanistan
Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:30:56 GMT
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Senator John McCain
Divisions between Democrats and Republicans at the US Senate continue to deepen as President Barack Obama reconsiders the future of the US role in Afghanistan.

Republican Senator John McCain in a TV interview on Sunday warned President Obama that a failure to send more troops to Afghanistan will be "an error of historic proportions."

Obama's former rival emphasized that the president had found himself caught between military commanders and Democratic lawmakers.

"I think the great danger now is a half-measure ... trying to please all ends of the political spectrum," McCain was quoted by CNN as saying.

He earlier had asked Obama to trust his top commanders who are calling for more troops to tackle the growing insurgency in Afghanistan.

The commander of the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley Mc-Chrystal, has asked for 40-thousand more soldiers.

Democrats, however, oppose any troop surge and have introduced legislation to prohibit funding for further deployment.

Obama and his war council are busy looking for an effective military strategy in Afghanistan.

The mounting number of Western soldiers coming home in body bags has sent support for the war plummeting in Europe, Canada, and the United States.

JR/SS/MMA

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Chavez laments 'forgetful' Nobel committee's decision
Sun, 11 Oct 2009 23:16:52 GMT

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has joined the fray over Nobel Laureate Barack Obama, saying the US president does not deserve the prize.

Chavez wrote in a Sunday newspaper column that he believes Obama has not made any notable accomplishments to merit winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Chavez's view runs counter to that of his long-time friend and ally Fidel Castro, who described the Nobel peace committee's decision as a "positive step."

"But we would like to see, more than a prize for the US president, a criticism of the genocidal policies that have been followed by more than a few presidents of that country," Castro had said earlier.

An outspoken critic of the United States, Chavez, said that rather than promoting peace, the US president has been continuing the warlike policies of his predecessor George W. Bush.

He went on to criticize the Norwegian Nobel committee, saying it "forgot about his [Obama's] determination to continue battles in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Some believe that President Obama did not deserve such an important prize since he has only been in office for less than a year. Others believe that the prize is usually given to someone who has been active for a lifetime.

Republicans say that the prize was given to Obama for his well-known promises but not for how effective he has actually been. Some liberal Democrats even say that a wartime president does not deserve such a prestigious prize.

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