Today's Top Islamic News (DAILY)

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Pakistan sees 22,000 killed this year
Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:48:38 GMT

At least 22,128 people have reportedly been killed in terror-related incidents across Pakistan in the past six years, an official report reveals.

According to a late Wednesday report, in the past six years, since Islamabad joined Washington in the so-called war on terror, 7004 civilians and 2637 security officials lost their lives, while 12487 terrorists were killed in security forces' retaliatory assaults, a Press TV correspondent reported.

In 2003, 189 people, including 140 civilians, were killed in suicide attacks. At least 24 security officials and 25 terrorists were killed in other terror-related incidents.

In 2009, 1780 citizen and 780 security officials have been killed, while the number of the terrorists claimed to be killed in counter-terrorism operations has reached to 5972.

The report further revealed that from January to November this year, 58 suicide attacks took place across the country, marking 2009 the deadliest year in Pakistan as it witnessed over 56 suicide attacks in 2007, four in 2006 and seven in 2005.

Most of the attacks happened in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and tribal areas while Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh had the second highest number of attacks.

In the latest act of violence, a landmine blast and a militant ambush in Pakistan killed 10 Pakistani troops in Mohmand tribal area near the Afghan border.

Eight soldiers were killed and two wounded in the town of Safi when their vehicle hit a landmine. In a separate incident in the same region, militants attacked an army convoy, killing two paramilitary personnel.

RZS/AKM

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BBC-
US envoy opposed to Afghan surge

The US currently has some 68,000 troops in Afghanistan

The US ambassador in Kabul has written to the White House to oppose sending thousands more troops to Afghanistan.

In a leaked cable, Karl Eikenberry said President Karzai's government should first prove it would tackle corruption.

The message arrived amid intense debate over strategy, with President Obama yet to make a decision on troop numbers.

The dramatic intervention puts the ambassador - a former military commander in Afghanistan - at odds with generals seeking reinforcements.


EIKENBERRY'S CV
On Wednesday, President Obama held his eighth meeting to discuss the question of whether to send tens of thousands more troops to confront the Taliban.

Mr Eikenberry sent the secret cable in the past week, according to US media reports.

Expressing concern about corruption in Afghanistan, he said it was "not a good idea" to send substantially more soldiers, the BBC has been told.

The diplomatic dispatch appears to be a dramatic and last-minute intervention by the ambassador, says BBC Washington correspondent Adam Brookes.

It comes right at the end of weeks of White House deliberation over how to proceed in Afghanistan, and appears to put the ambassador at odds with the US Army, whose generals favour reinforcing and intensifying America's campaign.


The US currently has some 68,000 troops in Afghanistan, among a coalition force of more than 100,000.

Military chief 'fuming'

Officials say the Obama administration considered several options at Wednesday's meeting, including:

• Deploying another 40,000 troops, the option pushed for by the top US military commander in Afghanistan, Gen Stanley McChrystal

• Sending an additional 30,000 soldiers - a plan said to be favoured by Defence Secretary Robert Gates and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Adm Mike Mullen

• Sending about 20,000 extra troops

• A fourth option added in the past week involves sending 10,000 to 15,000 more soldiers, according to US media reports

President Obama meets national security team
Critics say the decision on Afghanistan is taking too long

In weighing up the options, Mr Obama is also preoccupied with how long it would take to see results and be able to withdraw, officials said.

Gen McChrystal was said to be fuming about Mr Eikenberry's intervention.

But a statement issued by the White House after Wednesday afternoon's strategy meeting appeared to reflect some of the envoy's concerns.

"The president believes we need to make clear to the Afghan government that our commitment is not open ended," it said.

"After years of substantial investments by the American people, governance in Afghanistan must improve in a reasonable period of time."

The Obama administration is also known to have concerns about the reliability of the government of President Karzai, who was last week declared the winner of August's widely criticised presidential election.

The BBC's Martin Patience in Kabul says there is a strong feeling that unless President Karzai gets his shop in order and tackles bad governance across the country, it will not matter how many extra troops are sent.

Critics have said the decision on Afghanistan is taking too long, while Mr Obama has said he does not want to rush a move that involves putting troops at risk.

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US bent on linking major's actions to his faith
Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:41:24 GMT

The US army officer who killed 13 soldiers and injured 30 at a US military base in Texas, had contacted 'a radical cleric sympathetic to al-Qaeda,' officials claim.

Major Nidal Malik Hassan who served as a psychiatrist in the US army for many years, had 'communicated on 10 to 20 occasions with a radical cleric' who is close to al-Qaeda, American intelligence agencies claim, adding that they were 'monitoring the email of Yemen-based Anwar al-Awlaki'.

However, they claim, it was 'decided' that this did not merit further investigation.

Despite trying very hard to somehow connect the incident to a Muslim source due to the shooter's faith and Palestinian roots, US officials reiterate that Major Hassan 'apparently acted alone' in carrying out Thursday's massacre at the Fort Hood base in.

Meanwhile, President Obama visited Fort Hood late Tuesday for a memorial service for the victims of the last week's shooting.

Hassan, a 39-year-old US-born Muslim of Palestinian descent, was scrutinized by an FBI-led joint 'terrorism task force' because of a series of alleged email exchanges between him and Al-Awlaki in 'December 2008 and early 2009.'

Al-Awlaki, who was released from a Yemeni jail last year, was once an imam at a mosque in Falls Church, Virginia, where Major Hassan and his family occasionally attended prayers.

Al-Awlaki, according to US officials, now runs a website denouncing US policy and praising Major Hassan's alleged actions at Fort Hood as 'heroic.'

Observers believe that the US is obviously bent on 'discovering' an “Islamic link” to the incident, once again promoting suspicion and hatred against American Muslims in the workplace.

HSH/MB

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Egypt gripped by 'veil martyr' trial

By Yolande Knell
BBC News, Cairo

In Egypt, where most women wear the Islamic headscarf, Marwa Sherbini has become known as "the veil martyr".
Demonstration in Alexandria, Egypt (26 October 2009)
Many Egyptians were angry at the lack of response in Germany

There were alerts on state television as news broke that her murderer had been sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of an early release.

The Egyptian ambassador in Berlin, Ramzi Izz Al-Din, told Channel One that Alexander Wiens had received "the harshest ruling possible".

He said he did not expect the ruling to be reduced if an appeal was filed.

Foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki welcomed the verdict, saying it "served justice" and was "a warning to those motivated by hate".

Wiens, 28, stabbed Ms Sherbini at least 16 times in a courtroom in Dresden in July, when she was giving evidence against him in a defamation case.

He had called her a "terrorist" and "Islamist" in a children's playground because she covered her hair.

She had asked him to make room for her three-year old son to play on the swings.

Ms Sherbini, a 31-year-old pharmacist, was pregnant when she was killed. Her son was in the courtroom at the time and her husband was stabbed and accidentally shot by a German guard when he tried to intervene.

High security

Details of the case shocked Egyptians and there was outrage at what was seen as the slow response of the German authorities to offer condolences and deal with claims of Islamophobia.

Wiens hid his face under a hood and sunglasses during the trial

A week after the killing, German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her sympathies to Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, but she did not comment publicly.

Meanwhile, thousands of people turned out for the funeral of Ms Sherbini in her home city, Alexandria. Many held banners demanding retribution.

There were also small but angry protests outside the German embassy and in the Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo.

Demonstrators described Germany as "a civilisation of tyrants" and shouted: "What happened to human rights? Where is justice?"

Wiens's trial was extensively covered in the Egyptian media, with particular attention given to the extra security measures taken in court.

Egyptian lawyers also travelled to Dresden and were allowed to present legal arguments.

Giving his response to the verdict, the head of the Egyptian Bar Association, Hamdi Khalifah, said it proved the German judiciary was "neutral".

An international law professor at Zagazig University, Nabil Himli, believed it showed the system was not "biased against Islam or Arabs and that the German authorities are fair".

'Bad image'

Still, many Egyptians have expressed the wish that Germany had a death sentence to use in this case.

Elwi Ali Okaz in court in Dresden, Germany (11 November 2009)
Mr Akaz was injured as he tried to save his wife

"She died, but he's still alive," Badr Shorbagy, a neighbour of Ms Sherbini from Alexandria, complained to the Associated Press news agency.

Ms Sherbini's husband, Olwi Akaz, gave testimony in the trial, telling how his son, who now lives with family in Egypt, misses his mother.

Mr Akaz had moved to Germany to carry out doctoral research in molecular biology but has said he does not think he will continue to live in Dresden.

Tarek Sherbini, the brother of the dead woman, said "the image of the German people is very bad" following the attack and claimed it showed hatred of Muslims.

There was a recent sign of a continuing strain in relations when the Dresden orchestra postponed planned performances in Egypt.

Officials say they hope tensions will now ease.

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WASHINGTON – Eager to show that their religion is all about compassion and nothing about violence, American Muslims are reaching out to the families of the victims of the Fort Hood deadly shooting tragedy, setting up a fund to help them.

"We want to emphasize that Muslims care for those who go through tough times," Louay Safi, Director of Communications and Leadership Development at the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), told IslamOnline.net.

Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a Muslim army psychiatrist, is the sole suspect in last week’s shooting spree at Fort Hood army base in Texas which killed 13 soldiers and wounded more than 30 others.

Hasan has emerged from a coma after being wounded by police gunfire but remains hospitalized at an intensive care unit in guarded condition.

"Islam is about compassion not only with Muslims but with non-Muslims too," said Safi.

ISNA, a 40-year-old umbrella organization for Muslims in the United States and Canada, has launched the “Fort Hood Family Fund” in tandem with other Muslim organizations, including the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), and the American Muslims in the Armed Forces.

"The idea came to Muslim community leaders after the incident as they agreed that we need to practice what we preach," Safi explained.

Mosques across the country are encouraging their members to donate for this humanitarian initiative.

The ISNA official asserted that non-Muslims are also welcome to contribute to the fund.

Appreciated
The Muslim groups hope to raise millions of dollars to help the victims’ families, like what they did for the Hurricane Katrina victims through a special ISNA fund.

"We are contacting people in the military and different soldiers’ organizations to know the best way to help the families with that fund," said Safi.

The army welcomed the Muslim initiative and said all American faiths groups can help victims.

"It is of good-nature," US Army spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Nathan Banks, told IOL.

Safi said the fund announcement was also very well received by the American media.

"There were very positive reactions from the community at large."

The ISNA official regretted, however, some negative reactions from certain Muslim-bashing groups.

"Some just seek to distort whatever you do."

Shortly after the tragedy, some right-wing commentators rushed to link the shooting to Islam as a religion although leading Muslim groups, including ISNA and the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), had immediately condemned the murders as unjustified and un-Islamic.

"Many will seize Fort Hood to stereotype Islam and distort its image," Safi fears.

"We want to emphasize that this is not true. Islam was never about violence."

Source: IslamOnline

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WASHINGTON — The alleged plotters of the 9/11 attacks will be tried in a civilian court in the United States, a move seen as a step toward fulfilling President Barack Obama’s pledge to close the notorious Guantanamo Bay. "I am absolutely convinced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be subject to the most exacting demands of justice," Obama said Friday, November 13, in Tokyo where he is on a week-long Asian tour, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Official told the Washington Post that Sheikh Mohamed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, and four suspects will be tried in a civilian court in New York.

Two other Guantanamo detainees are expected to face trial before military commissions.

One of those facing a military commission is Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, accused of plotting the 2000 USS Cole bombing, The New York Times said, citing a federal law enforcement source.

An official announcement is expected to be made by Attorney General Eric Holder later Friday.

Ten detainees already face charges before the military commissions, which Obama halted as he came to power.

Three prisoners have been convicted before military commissions, but the tribunals have been widely condemned for limiting defendants' rights and attracted criticism from the US Supreme Court in a 2006 ruling that forced an overhaul of the process.

Despite the criticism, the Obama administration has indicated it will maintain the system established during former president George W. Bush's tenure.

To mollify critics, the White House and lawmakers worked together on a bill passed in late October that boosted defendants' rights.

The legislation barred the use of evidence obtained through coercion, strengthened the rules on hearsay evidence and improved defendants' access to witnesses and evidence.

Gitmo Closure

The trial of the alleged 9/11 plotters drew fire from the victims’ families.

"To allow a terrorist and a war criminal the opportunity of having US constitutional protections is a wrong thing to do and it’s never been done before," Ed Kowalski of the 9/11 Families for a Secure America Foundation told AFP.

"We feel that that's a terrible mistake.

"President Obama is wrong to do this," Kowalski said.

The transfer is seen as a bid to fulfil Obama’s pledge to close Guantanamo early next year.

"The American people will insist on it. My administration will insist on it," Obama said.

But the US president and his team are facing numerous political and diplomatic hurdles and some officials admit it may be hard to meet the deadline.

US officials meet a difficulty in pursuing charges against many of the inmates, who were subjected to harsh interrogations which human rights groups have called torture.

Among the barriers to closing Guantanamo is the deep resistance by US allies to take detainees, who have been cleared of connections to terrorism.

None of those detainees have so far transferred to the US soil.

Obama has ordered the closure of the notorious detention camp as it has tarnished the United States' reputation abroad.

The US is holding hundreds of detainees in Guantanamo and declared them as “unlawful enemy combatants” to deny them legal rights under the US legal system.

The camp has for years been criticized by international watchdogs and rights icons for operating outside the law, amid reports of torture and rights abuses.

Source: IslamOnline

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CAIRO – Switzerland became the latest Western country to join the booming Islamic finance system, offering a full range of Shari`ah-compliant banking products and services, reported Qatari daily The Peninsula on Friday, November 13. “We are proud to be the first Swiss private bank to offer such a holistic range of opportunities in Islamic finance to the (Middle East) region and on a global scale,” Fidelis M Goetz, Head of Banking Division at Bank Sarasin, told a press conference in the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha.
The bank would offer a full spectrum of Shari`ah-compliant banking products and services for clients.

This includes Murabaha “sale on profit”, Wakala “fiduciary agreement between two parties” and Maraya “an Islamic structured product that is based on Murabaha or a series of Murabaha transactions”.

“The launch of our Islamic wealth management offering reflects our commitment to serving the diverse needs of our clients,” said Goetz.

Islam forbids Muslims from usury, receiving or paying interest on loans.

Islamic Banks Weather Global Crisis Transactions by Islamic banks must be backed by real assets -- not shady repackaged subprime mortgages. Shari`ah-compliant financing deals resemble lease-to-own arrangements, layaway plans, joint purchase and sale agreements, or partnerships.

Investors have a right to know how their funds are being used, and the sector is overseen by dedicated supervisory boards as well as the usual national regulatory authorities.

Booming Market

The Swiss bank, a leading private bank with a broad international footprint, hopes to get a share of the booming Islamic finance market.

“We have perceived in the past couple of years that we have been in the region real interest for these services,” Goetz said.

Islamic finance is one of the fastest growing sectors in the global financial industry.

Starting almost three decades ago, the Islamic banking industry has made substantial growth and attracted the attention of investors and bankers across the world.

"We are extremely delighted that the global launch of our Islamic products is taking place in the Middle East,” said Rohit Walia, Executive Vice Chairman & CEO, Bank Sarasin-Alpen Group, Middle East and South Asia.

Nearly 50 percent of the Islamic finance market is situated in the Gulf region.

“Islamic Finance is a fast growing concept in the region,” said Walia.

“Many of our clients have expressed interest in Islamic Wealth Management and we are very happy to offer the suite of Islamic products to meet their requirements.

“I am sure this will also add to our already strengthened position in the region."

A long list of international institutions, including Citigroup, HSBC and Deutsche Bank, are going into the Islamic banking business.

Currently, there are nearly 300 Islamic banks and financial institutions worldwide whose assets are predicted to grow to $1 trillion by 2013.

“Ultimately our aim is to operate on a global basis,” said Fares Mourad, Managing Director, Head of Islamic Finance at Bank Sarasin. “But what we are doing is a step by step approach.”

Source: IslamOnline

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CAIRO – US government plans to seize four mosques and a skyscraper owned by a non-profit Muslim charity on claims of links to Iran is sending shockwaves across the Muslim minority. “We are concerned that the seizure of American houses of worship could have a chilling effect on the religious freedom of citizens of all faiths,” Ibrahim Hooper, Communications Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said in a statement obtained by IslamOnline Friday, November 13.
“(It) may send a negative message to Muslims worldwide.”

Federal prosecutors filed a lawsuit Thursday to forfeit assets of the Alavi Foundation on claims of links to Iran.

The assets include Islamic centers housing mosques and schools in New York, Maryland, California and Houston and a skyscraper in Manhattan.

Federal prosecutors allege that the Foundation has been illegally funnelling funds to the Iranian government.

They claim that top Iranian officials, including former deputy prime minister Tahmasb Mazaheri and ambassadors to the United Nations, were involved in the foundation's business dealings.

"The Alavi Foundation has effectively been a front for the government of Iran," Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara said.

The seizure of the Muslim worship houses is an unprecedented move in US history due to freedom of religion rights enshrined in the Constitution.

The move comes a week after a deadly shooting by a Muslim army soldier at the Fort Hood military base in Texas, which killed 13 people and wounded 30.

Chilling

US Muslims fear that the mosques seizure would trigger a backlash against the Muslim minority.

"It's a rare move to seize a house of worship,” Basim Elkarra, executive director of Sacramento Valley CAIR chapter, told the Sacramento Bee daily.

“We're concerned about the chilling effect on First Amendment rights.”

The Muslim leader said that the seizure of the worship house comes at a “bad” time.

"American Muslims are concerned about a backlash over the Fort Hood shooting,” he said.

"And millions of Muslims are going to be gathering in Makkah for the pilgrimage and hearing about the government seizing mosques.”

More than three million Muslims will go to hajj, one of the pillars of Islam, this month.

Every able-bodied adult Muslim -- who can financially afford the trip -- must perform hajj once in their lifetime.

Hajj is expected to climax this year on November 26 when the faithful descend the Mount `Arafat.

American Muslims, estimated at between six to seven million, have been in the eye of storm since the 9/11 attacks, having their faith widely stereotyped and their civil rights eroded by anti-terror laws.

"Now our mosques are being seized," said Elkarra.

Source: IslamOnline

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Gulf News

Dubai Islamic banking assets continued double-digit growth this year as conventional bank growth stagnated, according to The Banker's Top 500 Islamic Financial Institutions survey, published in association with HSBC Amanah.

Assets held by fully Sharia-compliant banks or Islamic banking windows of conventional banks rose by 28.6 per cent to $822 billion (Dh3 trillion) from $639 billion in 2008. This is in striking contrast to The Banker's 2009 Top 1,000 World Bank rankings released in July, which showed annual asset growth of just 6.8 per cent at conventional banks.

The Islamic finance industry continues to build a solid track record: the compound annual growth rate for 2006-2009 is 27.86 per cent, with assets forecast to hit $1033 billion in 2010.

pian Caplen, Editor of The Banker magazine, said: "A conservative approach to risk and a close link between the financial sector and real assets has helped shield the sector from the worst of the credit crisis. But finding improved ways to manage liquidity at Islamic banks, as well as harmonising Sharia and prudential compliance between institutions and markets, remain significant hurdles."

Alternative

David Dew, Deputy CEO of HSBC Amanah, said: "It is important that the Islamic finance industry continues to analyse its growth critically if it is to become a truly credible alternative to conventional banking in a significant number of markets.

"Our support for this global benchmark reflects HSBC Amanah's status as the premier cross-border provider of Sharia compliant financial services to retail, corporate and institutional clients. It also illustrates our commitment to continue to meet customer needs, which we believe will enable the industry to achieve meaningful scale and mainstream relevance in a growing number of international markets."

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states remained the dominant segment of Islamic finance, with $353.2 billion or 42.9 per cent of the total global aggregate. Iran remains the largest single market for Sharia-compliant assets, accounting for 35.6 per cent of the global aggregate.

Outside the Middle East, Malaysia remains by far the largest player, accounting for 10.5 per cent of the global aggregate, but other markets are expanding rapidly.

The UK now accounts for just under 2.5 per cent of global Sharia-compliant assets, and the Syrian Islamic finance market expanded an eye-catching 500 per cent.

28.6%

growth in assets by Sharia-compliant banks

6.8%

annual asset growth

42.9%

aggregate by GCC states

Staff Report

© Gulf News 2009.&All rights reserved.

Source: Zawya

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Islamabad demands US end drone attacks
Sat, 14 Nov 2009 07:32:18 GMT
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The US National Security Adviser James Jones has been told that Pakistan was severely against a sudden withdrawal of allied troops from Afghanistan.
Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff tells visiting US advisor on National Security that Washington should put an end to drone attacks in his country.

During a meeting on Friday with US advisor on National Security James Jones at Pakistan's army headquarters in Rawalpindi, Gen Ashfaq Kayani said that the drone attacks must be halted immediately.

Pakistan's top commander said that his country has paid a heavy price in the so-called war against terrorism.

Washington says the drone attacks are aimed at killing militants but the indiscriminate raids have killed a large number of civilians in Pakistan's northwest since 2006.

Based on an article published in the Pakistani daily The News in April, only 10 out of the cross-border predator strikes in Pakistan were able to hit their actual targets.

According to independent reports, since August 2008 alone, more than 70 cross-border predator strikes carried out by American drones have resulted in the deaths of 687 Pakistani civilians.

The attacks have sparked outrage among the public.

The retired US general began his visit to Pakistan on Friday to hold talks on different issues with the country's civilian and military leaders including Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

MVZ/TG/DT