Today's Top Islamic News (DAILY)

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Israel 'hides settlements data'
Cars drive past the Jewish settlement of Ofra in the West Bank
Illicit building has been taking place in well-established settlements, such as Ofra

The Israeli defence ministry has concealed information about the extent of illegal settlement-building in the West Bank, a leading newspaper reports.

A classified database of construction compiled by the ministry was leaked to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

It suggests most construction took place without the right permits, and more than 30 settlements were built in part on land owned by Palestinians.

Settlements are a contentious issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The defence ministry has not commented on the report, which appears to contradict Israel's official position that it does not requisition private land for settlements.

The internationally-backed "road map" peace plan also calls on Israel to halt all settlement activity.

Publication 'blocked'

The database - compiled over about two years - was leaked to Haaretz by the Israeli human rights group Yesh Din.

Israeli police officers and soldiers remove Jewish settlers during the evacuation of a disputed house in the West Bank city of Hebron on 4 December 2008
Israel says it does not tolerate the seizure of private land for settlements
It focuses not only on some 100 unauthorised settler outposts, but also on about 120 settlements officially authorised since Israel captured the territory in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

An analysis of the data shows a big majority - about 75% - of construction in settlements was carried out without the right permit or in contravention of permits issued, Haaretz reported.

In more than 30 settlements, buildings including schools, synagogues and police stations, had been built on private Palestinian land.

The newspaper said Defence Minister Ehud Barak blocked publication of the data, arguing it could endanger state security or harm Israel's foreign relations.

Yesh Din told the BBC the report showed that the Israeli government ignored its own distinction between settlements considered legal under Israeli law, and illegal outposts built on privately owned land.

The group said it would use the information to help Palestinians sue Israel for damages.

Mitchell visit

The Haaretz article comes in the same week as the visit of the new US envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell.

In 2001 he released a report which called on Israel to freeze settlement building.

Earlier this week Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was quoted in another newspaper as saying he had offered in talks with the Palestinians to remove 60,000 settlers from the West Bank.

Haaretz says the right-wing opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed not to be tied to any pledges to withdraw settlers.

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NEW DELHI — Thousands of Muslims marched through the Indian capital New Delhi on Thursday, January 29, to protest routine harassment and torture of their community by police. "We want innocent Muslim youth who have been arrested by the police to be let off in two weeks," Maulana Amir Rashadi Madani, leader of the Ulema Council, the rally organizer, told reporters.

A special train, called Ulema Express, set off from Azamgarh in the northern Uttar on Wednesday, January 28, picking up hundreds of distraught Muslims en route to the capital.

"Let the truth prevail, bring the innocents out of jail" and "Give us security, not tears and blood," read banners carried by the protesters.

They called for bringing to justice policemen responsible for detaining and torturing innocent Muslims.

Muslims demand a judicial inquiry into the killing of two Muslims and arrest of another two in Delhi's southern Batla House area in September.

Police claim the four were terrorist suspects, while local Muslims insist they were innocent young students and professionals.

"All that happened in the Batla house encounter deserves a probe which should be done to bring out the facts," Mohammad Tahir Madani, a Muslim leader, told Reuters.

"Many innocent people who are nothing to do with the matter have been put behind the bars.

"Whoever has put false charges against them, they should be tried in court as to why they picked up innocent Muslim boys and ruined their career."

The New York-based Human Rights Watch said police in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh should be prosecuted for torturing 21 Muslims, among 100 arrested after the 2007 blasts hit the main city of Hyderabad.

The state government admitted that 21 men had been tortured and would each receive 600 dollars in compensation.

Patriotic

Muslims have also repeatedly complained of being selectively and unfairly targeted by anti-terror police. They also accuse authorities of feeding stereotypes about their religion.

"We will intensify our agitation if the false arrests and harassment continues," Madani said.

"The war against terror has become the war against Muslims," fumed Wasim Ahmad Ghazi, a local politician.

Amik Jamai, an activist and documentary filmmaker, regretted this happens at a time Muslims maintain deep-rooted connections to their homeland.

"The Muslims here are proud to be patriotic," Jamai told the BBC.

"They have promoted the concept of peace here, they live together in harmony."

Indian Muslims make up around 13 percent of India's 1.1 billion population.

But they complain of being discriminated against by the state.

Muslims account for less than seven percent of public service employees, only five percent of railways workers, around four percent of banking employees.

There are only 29,000 Muslims in India's 1.3 million-strong military.

Jamai, the activist and filmmaker, said Muslims are seeking an end to all unjust measures committed by the authorities against them.

"We are hoping for justice. We are hoping for transparency."

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(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/2/2009) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) reported today that mosques in Pennsylvania and Florida have been targeted by vandals.

In Pennsylvania, red paint was splashed across the steps leading to the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh.

SEE: Vandals Hit Islamic Center in Oakland (Post-Gazette)

CAIR’s South Florida chapter reported today that shots were fired at a Miami mosque and Islamic school. (CAIR-SFL Executive Director Altaf Ali will be available for media interviews at the scene.)

SEE: Police Investigate Shots Fired At Miami Mosque

LOCATION: Masjid An-Noor/The Islamic School of Miami, 11699 SW 147th Avenue, Miami
CONTACT: CAIR-SFL Executive Director Altaf Ali, 954-298-8214, E-Mail: aali@cair.com

The Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group is urging Muslims nationwide to review security procedures using advice contained in its "Muslim Community Safety Kit."

SEE: CAIR Muslim Community Safety Kit

“We urge local, state and national law enforcement authorities to investigate possible bias motives for these incidents,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.

Hooper asked leaders of all faiths to reject religious intolerance. He noted that just today, Pat Robertson called Islam a "religion of hate."

SEE: CAIR Asks Christians to Repudiate 'Hate-Filled Rhetoric'

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 35 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

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Israeli F-16 fighter jets pound Gaza Strip
Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:14:02 GMT
An Israeli air strike on the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah on January 13.
Israeli F-16 warplanes bomb several areas in the Gaza Strip, including an empty police station and the borderline between Gaza and Egypt.

Israeli warplanes Sunday night hovered over the town of Rafah and fired at least four heavy bombs at a borderline area between Rafah and Egypt, residents reported saying that there were no injuries.

One resident said that he saw dozens of families leaving their homes earlier this evening and moving to safer places in the northern area of the town.

Israeli jets also struck a police station twice turning it into rubbles, but no injuries were reported as it was empty.

Hamas and Israel declared ceasefire following a furious 23-day Israeli military onslaught on the Gaza Strip, where over 1,330 Palestinians were killed and more than 5,400 injured, mostly civilians.

Efforts are underway to mediate a longer term truce between Israel and Hamas. A one-and-half-year ceasefire is expected to be declared on Feb. 5, latest reports claim.

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Sudan: Israel arming Darfur rebels
Mon, 02 Feb 2009 09:49:09 GMT
An Israeli soldier covers his ears as a mobile artillery unit fires a shell towards Gaza in mid-January. Israel receives at least $2 billion a year in US weapons.
Israel has supplied a rebel group involved in the Darfur conflict in Sudan with a considerable amount of weaponry, a new report says.

The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) has received considerably heavy military logistical support from Israel, Sudan's state media reported on Sunday.

The shipment has been sent through France, which is in charge of training military personal inside neighboring Chad, the Sudanese Media Center, a news outlet with links to Sudan's security service said.

France maintains a 1,650 soldier mission to Chad as part of the EUFOR mission to protect refugees who have fled the conflict in Darfur in neighboring Sudan.

The JEM which seized the city of Muhageriya about two weeks ago is considered Darfur's most powerful rebel group.

The group managed to capture the city form forces loyal to the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) faction of Minni Minawi, which is the only rebel group to have signed a peace deal with Khartoum.

Sudan accuses Chad of providing military and logistical support for the rebel group's attacks on Southern Darfur.

Chad, however, blames Sudan for the creation of the Union of Resistance Forces, an umbrella group for the main Chadian rebel factions created in late January 2008.

The two neighbors broke off diplomatic relations last year, with each accusing the other of supporting rebel assaults on their capitals.

Although relations were re-established in November, ties still remain tense between the two central African nations.

MT/DT

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Lieberman labeled former Kach terrorist
Wed, 04 Feb 2009 07:25:41 GMT
Avigdor Lieberman has been accused of being a former member of the Kach terrorist group.
A former Kach leader says he is willing to testify that Israeli premier candidate Avigdor Lieberman was a member of his terror group.

Former Kach secretary general Yossi Dayan told Ha'aretz on Tuesday that Lieberman, leader of Yisrael Betinu Party and current candidate for the prime minister post in the upcoming Israeli elections, became a member of the Kach terrorist group upon immigrating to the occupied lands.

Dayan said he issued Lieberman with a party membership card, which was used by the politician for a short period.

The current Lieberman electoral campaign has managed to provoke outrage among Israeli Arabs whom have been criticized by the Yisrael Betinu leader over their elected officials in the Knesset.

Dayan went on to affirm his strong belief about Lieberman, saying he is willing to testify in front of any committee to confirm his statements.

"I don't recall to what extent he was active in the movement, but if he denies [this], I am ready to testify in any forum that Lieberman was indeed a member for a short amount of time," said Dayan.

Ultra-nationalist activist Avigdor Eskin said he had also met Lieberman several times at the movement's office in al-Quds (Jerusalem).

Eskin described Lieberman as a typical "Kach member" that "hates Arabs".

Lieberman is notorious for his anti-Arab racist remarks and unbridled tongue. Some believe him to be a very dangerous and sophisticated politician who has won support through racism.

Kach is a group that seeks armed confrontation to expel all Arabs from their native lands to achieve the goals of the 'Greater Israel'. The group was formed in 1971 by Me'er Kahana, shortly after he immigrated to Palestine. Kahana was assassinated in the United States in 1990.

Kach is considered as a terrorist organization by Israel, Canada, the European Union and the United States.

When the movement was established, it set its goal to have a Jewish state in both banks of the Jordan River, which meant occupying Jordan and Palestine.

The Kach movement participated in the 1984 elections in Israel and won one seat; in 1988 the movement was barred from participating in the elections for its racist ideology and was officially declared as a terrorist movement in 1994.

The Ha'aretz report comes one week after police questioned the daughter of Lieberman and six of his aides over a corruption scandal.

The probe is part of an investigation into a series of bribery, fraud and money laundering allegations, which have implicated the circle of the Yisrael Beiteinu chairman's close associates.

MSH/AA

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MUMBAI: A US national has alleged that she was molested by an unknown person in The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)
temple guest house in north west Mumbai, a senior police official said on Wednesday. ( Watch )

"The lady has filed a complaint with the Juhu police station stating that on January 31 an unknown person molested her at the guest house," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone IX) Niket Kaushik said.

"The case registered is of molestation and we have added the additional section of attempt to rape in the complaint since we suspect that it was the motive of the accused," Kaushik said.

The woman has said in her complaint that she was alone in her room when the person knocked the door. He forced his way in and molested her.

She raised an alarm following which other guests in the building and security personnel rushed there. However, the person who molested her managed to escape, the woman has told the police.

No arrests have been made as yet, Kaushik said adding further investigations are on.

ISKCON has a 76-room guest house on its Juhu premises in which members of the organisation and guests are allowed to stay. The US national was reportedly staying in the building after being referred there by another member.

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MP: Arrest British Jews fighting for IDF
Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:39:56 GMT
By Fareena Alam, Press TV, London
Lord Nazir Ahmed
Lord Nazir Ahmed is one of Britain's most prominent Muslim leaders. This week, he questioned the British government about concerns that British Jews may have served in the Israeli Defense Force during Operation Cast Lead - the three-week bombardment of Gaza.

Lord Ahmed's questions have brought attention to an issue that has significant legal and political implications but which few want to discuss in public.

The following is an exclusive Press TV interview with Lord Ahmed:

Press TV: Lord Nazir Ahmed, you raised question in Parliament about the legal implications of British Jews serving in the IDF. What was the response?

Lord Ahmed: I asked Her Majesty's government if they were aware of British citizens who may have been involved with the war crimes committed by the Israeli Defense Force and Israeli Defense Reserves. Her Majesty's government did not have any figures because dual nationals do not have to inform the government. However, there are reports in the Daily Mirror and The Sun with the names of British citizens who have been fighting in Gaza.

The point I was making is that war crimes have been committed, white phosphorous has been used and if there are people who have broken the 4th Geneva Convention, then whoever they are, when they return to this country, they should be arrested and charged - unlike the Major General who escaped in 2005.

Press TV: Are you certain these are up to date reports about British citizens serving in Israel?

Lord Ahmed: These are very new reports, dated January 2009, of British citizens who have gone out to fight against the Palestinian people as part of the IDF. Their names and ages are mentioned in these reports.
We know that there are student unions that have been actively recruiting young people in Britain to join the Israeli Defense Force and we also know that there are young Jewish students who go and serve on the kibbutz and also in schools, who are also then doing national service in Israel.

How many of those have been involved in war crimes? How many of those have broken the Geneva Convention? When they come back to this country, we want our government to take some legal action against them.

Press TV: Will our government take such action?

Lord Ahmed: Yes - if there is evidence and if the United Nations is strong enough. At the moment they have not even decided how they are going to conduct this independent investigation into the use of white phosphorous and other weapons prohibited by the United Nations.

There is very clear evidence that the 4th Geneva Convention has been breached - we know there was collective punishment, excessive and disproportionate use of force against civilians and deliberate attacks on schools, hospitals and ambulances. There have even been attacks on UNRWA personnel and warehouses.

If the United Nations makes a statement or if someone goes to the courts and gets an order against these people then I am sure the government has to take some legal action.

Press TV: Were you surprised by the response from the government?

Lord Ahmed: I am not surprised at all. Lord Malloch-Brown did actually say that if there is any evidence of the 4th Geneva Convention being breached, and it doesn't matter whether they are British citizens or whether they are other nationalities, these people will be arrested and they will be tried in this country.

Press TV: How do you think the British Jewish community will react to such a move?

Lord Ahmed: Well the reaction was very obvious. One of their lordships got up and started to praise the British citizens who were fighting in Gaza. He said: shouldn't we be proud of the fact they are fighting against terrorists who are hell bent on trying to destroy Israel.

But they are not fighting against a terrorist organization as such. The IDF and those who serve in it have been involved in the massacre of civilians, including hundreds of Palestinian children and attacks on the United Nations and even the American school. There is just no excuse for anyone to get away from these war crimes this time.

Press TV: Is this situation comparable to British Muslims allegedly going to fight in foreign conflicts?

Lord Ahmed: There have been many government statements with regards to British Muslims going abroad to foreign madrasahs and then seeking training. There was a huge outcry across the board - from government officials, politicians and civil society.

Of course, we do not support anyone who has been involved with terrorism or killing of innocent civilians anywhere, or those who fight British troops abroad.

However, to me there is no difference whether the young person is from a Jewish background or Muslim background. The only difference is that one has a uniform and the other does not. Both kill innocent civilians. Both need to be brought justice.

This is why Baroness Tongue asked the question about the number of British youth who go to religious Jewish schools and also the kibbutz. In this case, it is a double standard to allow young British citizens of whatever religion, who go to religious schools and then get involved in armed conflicts and join a terrorist state.

The very fact that in both cases, they kill innocent civilians, including children warrants a fresh look at this issue, as was recommended by Lord Wallace of Saltaire.

Press TV: Are you expecting any progress now that you have raised the issue?

Lord Ahmed: My intention was to bring this matter to the attention of parliament. The second was to discuss this openly in the media. It has always been a taboo to ask any questions about Jewish youth who go to Israel for training and service in the IDF.

We have received a government statement. Now, it is for the legal experts to take it up in the courts and to make sure the government takes legal action against people who may have been in breach of international law.

As a general point, I was surprised by how the entire British society was moved by this crisis. In almost every town and city, people went out to demonstrate against the bombing and killing of innocent civilians. They put pressure on the government and at least the government has done a few things such as taking the resolution to the UN.

But more importantly, I have definitely seen the mood amongst British politicians change to become more openly critical of the Israeli government. Unfortunately, that is not the same in Europe.

We went to see the President of the European Parliament and met with a number of Members of the European Parliament who feel that Germany, Austria and France and other parts of Europe still have guilt in relation to the Holocaust. That is why Israel can get away with anything it wants.

We know that very fine members of parliament like Gerald Kaufman MP, who is himself Jewish, very openly said that just because these people were victims of the Holocaust does not mean they should perpetrate another holocaust on the Palestinian people.

We need to speak out and support Jews, like Gerald Kaufman and Jews for Justice for Palestine, who have been supporting the Palestinians.

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Bush shoe sculpture 'taken down'

The unveiling of the sculpture took place on Thursday

Enlarge Image

A sculpture of a shoe erected in Iraq to honour a journalist who threw his footwear at George W Bush has been dismantled, reports say.

Foreign media say the bronze-coloured fibre-glass shoe was removed from its site in the city of Tikrit on the orders of the local authorities.

It had been erected in the grounds of an orphanage.

The monument was reportedly taken down just a day after being unveiled in the late Saddam Hussein's home town.

The head of the Childhood organisation, which owns the orphanage, said she had been told to remove the monument immediately by the Salaheddin Provincial Joint Coordination Centre.

A reporter shouts "this is the end" as he throws his shoes at President Bush

"I did take the shoe down immediately and destroyed it, and I did not ask why," Shahah Daham told the German news agency DPA.

Salaheddin's deputy governor, Abdullah Jabara, told DPA: "Children should be put away from any political-related issues. Since this is an orphanage, this monument can instil in children's heart things for which the time is not now."

Mr Jabara was also quoted by CNN as saying: "We will not allow anyone to use the government facilities and buildings for political motives."

'Source of pride'

When the sculpture was unveiled, artist Laith al-Amari insisted it was not a political work, but a "source of pride for all Iraqis".


Muntadar al-Zaidi (archive image)

Profile: Shoe-throwing journalist
Bush shoe-ing worst Arab insult

Mr Bush managed to dodge the shoes but the man who threw them, Muntadar al-Zaidi, was arrested and awaits trial.

As he pulled off his shoes, Mr Zaidi, now 30, shouted: "This is from the widows, the orphans, and those who were killed in Iraq."

He also told Mr Bush, who launched the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and was paying a final visit to Iraq last month: "This is a farewell kiss, you dog".

Mr Zaidi shot to fame as a result of his action, which signalled extreme contempt in the Arab world, and inspired rallies across the Middle East and beyond.

Since his arrest, the TV journalist has reportedly been beaten in custody, suffering a broken arm, broken ribs and internal bleeding.

He has been charged with aggression against a foreign head of state, and faces up to 15 years in jail if convicted. His family denies he has done anything wrong.

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'No return of Golan Heights to Syria'
Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:57:42 GMT
Former Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu vows to continue the occupation of Syria's Golan Heights if his party wins Israel's parliamentary elections.

Netanyahu the leader of the Likud party and the front-runner in polls ahead of Israel's Tuesday parliament elections, affirmed Sunday that if his party wins the elections, the strategic Golan Heights, captured from Syria in the 1967 war, 'will not be returned' under any conditions.

The United Nations has demanded Israel withdraw from the occupied territory and hand it over to Syria. Damascus is also demanding the return of the strategic Heights as a prerequisite for peace in the Middle East.

But Netanyahu, the former Israeli prime minister, has very emphatically said: "The Golan will never again be divided, the Golan will never fall again, the Golan will remain in our hands.”

Netanyahu and his party consider the strategic value of the plateau as more important than a peace treaty. On Sunday, the 59-year-old former Israeli prime minister traveled to the Golan Heights, as a campaign stop, to emphasize his policies and the differences he has with other candidates with the sole aim to toughen his right-wing credentials.

The government of outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had engaged in indirect talks mediated by Turkey over the return of the territory as part of a peace deal with Damascus.

Meanwhile, the announced policies of Netanyahu are contradicting with that of Washington. It seems he could be setting up a confrontation with the Obama administration if he becomes Israel's leader.

Netanyahu opposes talks on a peace treaty with the Palestinians and favors allowing Israeli settlements in the West Bank to expand, two points that are likely to clash with Washington's policy.

Netanyahu has also pledged to stop rocket fire from Gaza by any means if elected as prime minister.