TASEK PAUH blogspot

Kuwait City, April 3 (Reuters) - Nouriya Al Sabeeh took the oath in parliament in Kuwait City yesterday.

Picture - Nouriya Al Sabeeh after taking the oath in parliament in Kuwait City yesterday.

The new education minister refused to wear a veil during the ceremony, sparking protests by several parliamentarians.

The new 16-member council of ministers, two of whom are female, is Kuwait's 24th cabinet since gaining independence in 1961.

Labels: Luar Negeri, Ummah

A meeting of about 60 imams late yesterday decided against sacking the mufti of the nation’s biggest mosque, Sheikh Taj El-Din Hilaly, who was accused of justifying rape last year when he compared immodestly dressed women to uncovered meat.

Imams council spokesman Mohamad Abdalla said the meeting voted to consult the country’s 280,000 Muslims about Hilaly’s future, angering Prime Minister John Howard who said the decision was out of touch with the views of the community.

“They’re exercising their right. But I think they’re doing their community damage,” Howard told Sky television today.

“The failure of the community to do something more decisive about this is damaging the image of Islamic Australians as part of our community. I think the impact of this decision will be extremely negative.”

Howard, who has said Hilaly does not promote Australian values, had urged Muslim leaders to drop Hilaly, who once described Howard, U.S. President George W. Bush and
Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair as the real axis of evil.

Hilaly also angered many locals when he told Egyptian TV that Muslims had a greater right to be in the country than white Australians who came from convict heritage.

Abdalla said the imams had decided to set up a council with representatives from each state, to look at the qualities they wanted from a new mufti.

He said Muslims wanted a mufti who was qualified in Islamic law, who could communicate in English, and who was aware of the social, economic and political context in Australia.

Labels: Australia, Luar Negeri, Ummah

PARIS, March 22 - A French court cleared a satirical weekly newspaper Thursday in a case brought by Muslims who were angered by its publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

The newspaper Charlie-Hebdo and its director, Philippe Val, were accused of "publicly abusing a group of people because of their religion." Val had risked a six-month prison sentence and a fine of up to $29,250.

The trial last month drew nationwide attention in a country with Europe's largest Muslim community and a strong commitment to freedom of expression and secularism.

Journalists and politicians have testified and Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy sent a letter of support for the weekly.

The state prosecutor - whose role in court is to defend French law - argued in favor of the magazine, which on Feb. 8, 2006, printed three caricatures - two of them reprints of those carried by a Danish newspaper in 2005 that stoked anger across the Islamic world. One caricature was an original.

Labels: Luar Negeri, Ummah

Indonesian police kill terror gang member
Amy Chew

Jakarta, 22 Mar 2007 - INDONESIAN police shot dead a member of Malaysian Noordin Mat Top’s terror group following a raid in Central Java.

They arrested five others.

All six men are believed to be lieutenants of Noordin and are alleged to have been involved in the Australian embassy bombing of 2004 and attacks in Poso, Sulawesi.

The raid took place yesterday evening in a busy street in the sub-district of Depok, Yogyakarta.

"The suspects are the right-hand man of Noordin Mat Top," an anti-terror police officer told the New Straits Times from Yogyakarta.

"These arrests are significant.

"We also believe Abu Dujana is somewhere in this area (Central Java) and that he is with Noordin."

Abu Dujana, the Afghan-trained militant, is the leader of the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah.

Noordin is Asia’s most wanted terrorist and is believed to have masterminded all the major bombings in the country with his partner, Dr Azahari Husin, who was killed in a shootout with police.

Noordin has remained elusive despite a manhunt for him, which was launched after the first Bali bombings. Twice, he escaped a police dragnet.

Following information obtained from the suspects, police rushed to the neighbouring city of Solo and recovered weapons from a house, including guns, ammunition and home-made bombs.

Labels: Indonesia, Luar Negeri, Ummah

March 11 -Israeli policemen on Saturday killed a Palestinian young man after cruelly beating him in occupied Jerusalem, local sources said.

They identified the youth as Wael Karawi, 32, who was beaten to death this afternoon at the hands of Israeli policemen who focused their beatings on his head and other sensitive areas of his body.

The sources said that Karawi engaged the policemen in a heated debate before they started beating him with batons and only left him when he fainted.

The medical sources underlined that Karawi was killed on the spot after the brutal battering. See more pictures at kudusyolu.com

Labels: Israel, Luar Negeri, Palestin, Ummah

March 7 - The leader of Hamas says he has been urged by Iran to continue their stand against Israel, as he announced that Iran will fund his party as western blockades against his government continue.

"We still look forward to get support [from Iran] to break the political and economic sanctions," Khaled Meshaal said on Tuesday during a visit to Iran.

Picture - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president (L) pledges funds to Meshaal, the leader of Hamas [AFP]

Meshaal, who arrived in Iran early on Tuesday, told a press conference with Manouchehr Mottaki, the Iranian foreign minister, that Iran had been giving financial and political support to the Palestinians since Hamas took office in March last year.

Mottaki told reporters that Iran would continue to provide money to Hamas, but he did not give any figures.

Iran is known to have given $120 million to Hamas since it took office following its victory in the Palestinian legislative elections.

Fighting Israel

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president has urged visiting Meshaal on Tuesday to keep fighting Israel, state television said.

The United States and Israel accuse Iran of "interference" in Iraq, through backing Shia fighters, and of sponsoring terrorism, including Hamas, which the US still labels as a terrorist organisation and Lebanon's Shia-led group Hezbollah. Tehran denies the charges.

"The [Palestinian] government should use its brave and pious forces to continue resistance against the Zionist regime [Israel]", Ahmadinejad told Mashaal at the start of his two-day visit to Iran.

Iran refuses to recognise Israel and Ahmadinejad has called the Israeli state a "tumour" which must be "wiped off the map".

Iran's support for the Palestinians has grown more vocal since Ahmadinejad came to power in August 2005.

Palestinian sovereignty

The major aid donors to the Palestinian Authority - the United States, the European Union and Canada - cut off aid because Hamas has refused to renounce violence and recognise Israel and the previous agreements signed between Israel and the Palestinians.

At Tuesday's press conference, Meshaal was asked if Hamas had now recognised Israel.

The Hamas leader did not answer directly, but said: "The Palestinian government insists on June 4, 1967 borders [for a Palestinian state], full Palestinian sovereignty with Jerusalem as its capital."

He was referring to the international borders before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, which broke out on June 5 that year, in which Israeli troops captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

Last month, Meshaal and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, signed a Saudi-brokered agreement in Mecca under which they would form a coalition government and Hamas promised to "respect" the previous agreements.

The United States and others are waiting for the coalition to be formed before declaring whether the Mecca agreement warrants a resumption of aid.

Mottaki said his government backed the Mecca accord.

"Iran supports this initiative, and it also supports any step toward achieving greater unity among Palestinians," he said. Agencies

Labels: Iran, Luar Negeri, Palestin, Ummah

Dokka Umarov has issued the message to the Muslims of Caucasus and Russia

President CRI, Amir of the Caucasian mojaheds Dokka Umarov has issued the message to battling Muslims of Caucasus and oppressed Muslims of Russia. Edition KC publishes the full text of the message which was delivered to Chechen mass-media.

March 5 - The message to battling Muslims of Caucasus and oppressed Muslims of Russia

In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate!

All praise belongs to Allah, Who having created us Muslims and favored us with Jihad, gave us an opportunity to conquer the Paradise. Let Peace and Welfare be with the Leader of all Mujahideen Muhammad the Prophet, with his family and his Companions, and with all those who followed his path right up to the Doomsday. And then...

This brief message is a reminder to Muslims about position of their battling brothers on Caucasus, an explanation for oppressed Muslims of Russia and the order for those who subordinates the soul to Shariah of Allah.

Successively Muslims of Ichkeria and Caucasus spend the eighth year in Jihad. Sincere believers get stronger in belief, hypocrites and traitors become stronger in disbelief, fear and hatred to Islam.

Situation is extremely clear and obvious. All masks for a long time are dumped, all persons are known. Traitors openly say about the treachery and are proud of it, spreading among people nasty thing and debauch.

Sincere Muslims go out for Jihad and search for the Mercy of Allah, openly battling with invaders and traitors.

Everyone receives that has deserved: mojaheds - freedom and Favor of Allah, hypocrites - humiliation in this life and severe punishment in the Hereafter.

The heavy losses were suffered by us in 2006, two our greatest leaders (Sheikh Abdul-Halim and Abdallah Shamil Abu Idris) became Shahids (Insha'Allah, are apprehended by mojaheds, as well as it is necessary to believing Muslims with patience and hope on decision of Allah, and He knows better.

Leaders of Muslims, as well as ordinary mojaheds, battle and perish, kill enemies and happen are killed. But our victims are in Paradise, and their victims are in the Hell, Insha'Allah!

On their place others come, stronger, impudent, proof. Wisdom of our Lord is those. AlhamduliLlah, we are happy with Allah, and He is Best of all patrons.

False propagation kafirs and hypocrites, broadcasting about the finish of war and successes of invaders, cannot change a real state of affairs. To hide the truth any time is possible, but the lie is powerless before sincerity and validity.

In view of our losses among the administrative board, we have reorganized some our military structures. Plans are corrected, tactics is changed, communications and coordination among separate divisions of mojaheds, directions and sectors are strengthened. The last autumn and winter send away on a greater spadework. Work on reorganization of activity abroad comes to an end. read more..

Labels: Chechnya, Luar Negeri, Ummah

Labels: Myanmar, Ummah

World Chechnya Day is intended to commemorate the dignity and resiliance of a people who, against all odds, refused to be erased from existence.

On 23 February 1944, Stalin ordered the deportation of the entire Chechen and Ingush population to Central Asia. More than half of the 500,000 people who were to be forcibly transported died in transit or in massacres committed by Soviet troops. Those who survived the journey were left facing starvation and disease in the harsh winters of Siberia and Central Asia.

Within days an entire people had been erased from the land of their ancestors. Overnight Chechnya and Ingushetia were emptied of their native inhabitants, and every reference to Chechnya was removed from official maps, records and encyclopaedias.

In 2004, sixty years after the event, the European Parliament passed a motion that recognised this catastrophe as Genocide.

23rd February is World Chechnya Day. It is a day that few are aware of and yet none should forget.

Klik ke link ini http://www.worldchechnyaday.org/ untuk melayari atau download risalah lengkap mengenai Chechnya (isu, berita, penderitaan dll).

Labels: Chechnya, Luar Negeri, Ummah

Poverty, Backwardness And Ignorance Are Muslims' Main Enemies, Says PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 (Bernama) - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Friday night categorised poverty, backwardness and ignorance as the three main enemies of the Muslims that must be wiped out.

He said the three elements had placed many Muslim nations behind in terms of development compared to the Western countries (picture on the left is taken from kickdefella).

Abdullah, who is also the Organisation of the Islamic Conference chairman, stressed on the need for human capital development to give strength to the Muslim nations to fight the three destructive elements.

"When we look at illiteracy, it happens in the Muslim nations. The same goes for poverty. When we talk about conflicts, they largely occur in the Muslim world too.

"The Muslims should not be illiterate as learning is a must for them," he said when launching the Dewan Amal Islami (Damai) at the Putra World Trade Centre, here tonight.

Also present at the function were Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin, Deputy Information Minister who is also Damai chairman Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam.

Abdullah, who is also Patron 1 of Damai, said Malaysia's success in development had attracted the attention of other Muslim countries which wanted to make it as a model Muslim country.

The Prime Minister said the success was due to the moderate approach taken as well as the spirit of tolerance and consensus adopted through power sharing between the Muslim and non-Muslim leaders in administering the country.

"In this context, I hope the political stability and peace prevailing in the country will enable us to bring greater development to the people and Islam," he said.

On the establishment of Damai, the umbrella body for all Muslim non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the country which undertake activities aimed at developing human capital among the Ummah, Abdullah hoped it would achieve its objectives as a whole.

The Prime Minister also wanted the Muslims to work with other races to preserve the country's excellence that was achieved since its independence 50 years ago.

At the same time, the intellectuals, entrepreneurs and scientists as well as the private sector should work together to nurture the young Muslim generation so that they would have the characteristics to compete globally, he said.

"This is because they are the future generation who would take the country to greater heights," he said.

Damai, which was mooted by Abdullah, groups 95 Islamic welfare bodies and 538 non-governmental organisations that are registered with the Companies Commission of Malaysia and the Registrar of Societies.

Its mission is to strengthen understanding of the various dimensions of Islamic movements through the organisation of numerous Syariah-based activities.

Labels: Malaysia, Pak Lah, Ummah

The Islam in Belarus spread in the 14th -16th centuries. The process was encouraged by great Lithuanian princes, who invited the Tatar Muslim from the Crimea and Golden Horde as guards of state borders. Already in the 14th century the Tatars were proposed the settled way of life, state posts and service positions. By the end of the 16th century over 100 thousand persons of Tatar population settled in Belarus and Lithuania, including those hired to the service, voluntarily moved, prisoners of war, etc.

The Tatars follow to the Sunni Hanafi Islam. Some groups of Tatar in Belarus have accepted Christianity and got assimilated, but mostly they adhere to Muslim religious traditions what ensures their definite endogamy and preservation of ethnic features. Interethnic marriages with representatives of Belarusian, Polish, Lithuanian, Russian nationalities are not rare, but do not result in total assimilation.

Originating from different ethnic associations, Belarusian (and also Polish and Lithuanian) Tatars back in ancient days lost their native language and switched mainly into Belarusian, Polish and Russian. However, liturgy is conducted in the Arabic, which is known by the clergymen.

First mosques appeared on the territory of Belarus in the 14th - 15th cent. In 1994, the Mosque in Slonim was opened, and in 1996 the one in Smilovichi. In July 1997 in memory of the 600 anniversary of settlement of Tartars in Belarus, there took place a ceremony of opening a Mosque in Novogrudok. In the 19th century, the Mosque in the town of Ivye was built. It is considered a monument of the Belarusian wooden architecture. Today there are 4 functional Mosques in Belarus and a 5th one is under construction. In 1997, the foundation stone was laid for a future Mosque in Minsk. There were 27 Muslim communities in Belarus by mid-2002.

On June 14 and 15 2000, a gathering of nearly 100,000 Muslims from 25 communities throughout Belarus was planned to celebrate the birth of Prophet Muhammad. Mr Ibragim Kanapatsky, deputy chairman of the Islamic Association of Belarus then said, “Delegates from every part of the country, as well as representatives of the Turkish Embassy, will gather in a mosque in Smilovichi in the Minsk region to discuss problems faced by the Muslims of Belarus. It is a difficult time for us because of mixed feelings towards Islam in the world, in Belarus too, after the known events in the Caucasus and in other hot spots".

The geographical location and the number of Muslim communities in Belarus keep on expanding. Thus, in 1997 there were 23 communities including 19 of those in the Western regions of Belarus.

In 1994, the First All-Belarusian Congress of Muslims was held. As a result, the Muslim Religious Community of the Republic of Belarus was founded. Ever since it has been headed by Ibragim Aleksandrovich.

According to Mr. Kanapatsky, the Islamic Association will concentrate its efforts on building a Mosque in Minsk, as well as on renovating the mosque in Smilovichi and Muslim cemeteries throughout the country. Apart from Smilovichi, there are mosques in the towns of Ivye, Slonim, and Novogrudok in the Grodno region; in Kletsk in the Minsk region; and in Vidzy in the Vitebsk region. IBC through KC

Labels: Ummah

US millions fail to buy influence in deadly Gaza power play
Ed O'Loughlin, Gaza

TheAge.com.au - AFTER weeks of fraternal violence, many Palestinians accuse the US of stoking civil war in the occupied territories as part of a wider proxy struggle with Iran, Syria or the Islamic world in general. If so, the White House's strategy could be going badly wrong, just as it did in Iraq and Lebanon.

(Picture left - Hamas security men on patrol near the house of Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. Photo: AP)

Locals say that after only a couple of hours of relatively minor clashes in northern Gaza last week, the entire area fell under the control of the Islamic ruling party Hamas, backed mainly by Iran and Syria.

Instead of fighting, thousands of Palestinian Authority security men supposedly loyal to the US-backed former ruling party, Fatah, melted quietly away. And this week in Gaza City morale among those PA security men still serving PA chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas seemed scarcely any higher.

Several senior Fatah leaders in Gaza and the West Bank are ostentatiously withholding their support from Mr Abbas and, more particularly, the powerful but controversial Mr Dahlan, a US favourite.

These signs of collapsing Fatah unity come despite - or perhaps because of - the White House's recent announcement that it will provide $US86 million ($A110 million) to strengthen Mr Abbas' Presidential Guard for any showdown with Hamas.

In the West Bank town of Jericho, American military personnel have been training new members of this revamped force, increased from 300 under Yasser Arafat to 4000 at present and climbing.

Israel has released to Mr Abbas $US100 million of the customs revenue it has been withholding from the Palestinian Government since Hamas, which refuses to recognise the Jewish state or renounce armed struggle, beat Fatah in elections last year.

Israel has also allowed weapons, ammunition and supplies sent to Mr Dahlan by US client regimes in Jordan and Egypt to pass through its tight cordon around the Gaza Strip.

Yet for all the money, guns and training there is reason to doubt whether the new Presidential Guards, any more than the other 60,000-odd members of the PA's ramshackle network of rival security forces, are really up for a showdown with Hamas' warriors.

It was the breakdown in law and order and the lack of progress towards independence from Israel that led many despairing Palestinians to turn on Fatah's corrupt and compromised leadership last year, voting instead for the hardline but disciplined Hamas.

"Abu al-Abd", a Hamas intelligence chief in northern Gaza's Jabaliya refugee camp, says that if the Mecca talks break down, Hamas, which claims to have 15,000 trained fighters in its armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, would have no difficulty in overrunning the remaining Fatah bases in Gaza, including Mr Abbas' presidential compound on the coast, known as the Muntada.

"I know these Presidential Guards," he said. "They are cowards. They won't fight. They depend on bhangu (hashish), whiskey, cigarettes and hair gel. They aren't fighting for any ideology. Who should they die for? Dahlan? When we come for them they will ask, what should I lose my life for?"

While the fighting qualities of the PA's security forces still remains open to doubt, Fatah's own armed militia, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, would seem a hollow reed for Mr Abbas, Mr Dahlan and their foreign backers to lean on.

This week Baha Abu Jarad, 35, and his fellow al-Aqsa Brigades (and PA security force) commander "Abu Isam", 33, were holed up in a lone block of the Jabaliya refugee camp, scene of the worst of the recent clashes, unable to leave following repeated attacks by Hamas' Qassam Brigades.

As the commanders denounced Hamas to reporters in a bare fourth-storey room, their guards crowded around to listen. Brandishing loaded grenade launchers and unserviceable Soviet machine-guns, the guerilla fighters posed eagerly for photographs.

Then, after a brief huddle to consult, they posed again, this time with masks on.

When the reporters left, they found the street outside deserted; despite the genuine peril of the situation, all the sentries had abandoned their posts to go upstairs and join in the fun. Full report published on Feb. 9 by theage.com.au

Labels: Luar Negeri, Palestin, Ummah

Gulf News, February 10 - More than a year after Hamas came to power in Palestine, allegedly a deal has now been worked out in Makkah to form a national unity government.

The agreement was signed between Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, representing his Fatah faction, and exiled Hamas political chief Khalid Mesha'al.

It is assumed that both Fatah and Hamas have resolved their differences, but the question is whether those differences, over which many lost their lives or became permanently injured, have truly been settled. Or will they arise again at the least provocation, as has happened so many times before?

The accord, titled The Makkah Declaration, was signed in the presence of Saudi King Abdullah, who had invited both leaders to the holy city to resolve their differences and work towards harmony and peace between fellow Palestinians. It is therefore assumed that in signing the Declaration this, in some great measure, will form the first and important step along that path.

However, no reference was made to recognition of Israel by Hamas, so a full study of the Declaration and its implications will assuredly be taking place around the world.

In particular, the US will be seeking some move towards recognition of Israel, so that sanctions against Palestine can either be lifted or eased. Similarly, Western nations will be looking to The Makkah Declaration in the hope there is enough leeway to be able to increase their meagre aid that is being channelled to the Palestinians.

There has been so much suffering by Palestinians, in so many ways, due to the principled stance the Hamas government adopted, in accordance with its mandate, on coming to power. The initial euphoria on the announcement of the signing of the Declaration will hopefully last and enable the agreement to work, for the alternative is unacceptable. GulfNews

Labels: Berita, Luar Negeri, Palestin, Ummah

KudusYolu, 09 February 2007 - Hezbollah dismissed in a statement what the Israeli occupation is doing at the "Moroccans Gate" as a blatant violation to the sanctity of Islamic holy places and an aggression on the sanctities of Arabs and Muslims, who regard Al-Quds city as their most symbolic region under occupation.

The statement added that keeping silence on what is being done to this holy place is dangerous and encourages the enemy to perpetrate further, wider and more dangerous violations.

Hezbollah also said that the ongoing offensive proves the concerns which we have been raising regarding Israeli plots against the Al-Aqsa mosque and the surrounding holy places.

It is therefore a reason to push Arab and Islamic governments to shoulder the responsibility of facing these plots.

Labels: al-Aqsa, Hizbullah, Luar Negeri, Palestin, Ummah

PUTRAJAYA, February 9 - It is time for the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) to come up with “more than just words” to stop Israel from desecrating an Islamic holy site.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said if OIC secretary-general’s office were really interested in stopping Israel’s excavations near the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, it would need to initiate concrete action.

“The days of talking are over,” he told reporters after accepting contributions from the Wisma Putra Sports and Welfare Club for flood victims in Johor here on Thursday.

Syed Hamid was responding to a statement by OIC secretary-general Prof Dr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu that he “had initiated proactive contacts” with Islamic Summit Conference chairman Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in order to come up with a move to counter the aggressions taken by Israel against the Al-Aqsa mosque.

The excavation had demolished a passage linking the mosque to Al-Maghariba Gate nearby, a move which drew protests.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is considered the third most holy site for Muslims.

However, Syed Hamid said, as the current chair of OIC, Malaysia was willing to coordinate a meeting for all members to come together and decide on a joint action.

This was because, he added, each member in the Middle East region had its own diplomatic tie or stand towards Israel, which had to be taken into account for any joint action to be effective. theStarOnline

Labels: al-Aqsa, Malaysia, Pak Lah, Ummah

Muslim executed for trying to 'split' China

Beijing, February 9 (Agencies) - China has executed an activist for attempting to "split the motherland", sparking protest from rights groups, which said that there was no sufficient evidence.

Ismail Semed was executed on Thursday in Urumqi, the capital of the predominantly Muslim region of Xinjiang, Radio Free Asia (RFA) quoted his widow, Buhejer, as saying.

"When the body was transferred to us at the cemetery I saw only one bullet hole in his heart," Buhejer told the radio station on Friday.

The Xinjiang regional government declined to comment.

RFA said the charge on Semed stemmed from allegations that he was a founding member of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, outlawed by Beijing as a terrorist group.

However, Nicholas Bequelin of Human Rights Watch said: "The death penalty was widely disproportionate to the alleged crimes ... his trial did not meet minimum requirements of fairness and due process." GulfNews

Labels: China, Luar Negeri, Ummah

AlJazeera, February 10 - Clashes have broken out between Israeli police and Muslim worshippers at the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem following Friday prayers.

(Picture left - Demonstrations had earlier taken place close to the al-Aqsa compound - AFP)

About 2,000 Israeli police using tear gas and stun grenades entered the area around the mosque. Two Palestinians and one Israeli police officer have been reported as wounded.

Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna, reporting from Jerusalem, said there were suggestions of police using rubber-coated steel bullets.

Jacky Rowland, Al Jazeera's correspondent, said the sheikh of the mosque made calls for calm came over the mosques loudspeaker system, usually used for the call to prayer. Agencies

Labels: al-Aqsa, Luar Negeri, Palestin, Ummah

AlJazeera, February 9 - Israel has deployed 3,000 police officers around Jerusalem's Old City ahead of Muslim prayers at the al-Aqsa mosque compound, amid widespread Arab anger over Israeli excavation work nearby.

(Picture left - Demonstrations have taken place close to the al-Aqsa compound - AFP)

Ilan Franco, Jerusalem police chief, said officers were posted on Friday amid "intelligence indications" that disturbances could erupt.

Arab states say the work could damage the foundations of the mosque, the third holiest site in Islam.

Israeli authorities say the building work, begun on Tuesday, is being carried out to replace a centuries-old ramp 60 metres away.

'Day of anger'

A day of "anger" on the Muslim day of rest has been called by Tayssir al-Tamimi, the Palestinian chief justice, who on Tuesday called for "all Palestinians to go and protect al-Aqsa against Israeli plans that aim to destroy the mosque".

Thousands of Muslims regularly attend Friday prayers at the site, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.

For Jews it is the Temple Mount and the sacred site of their biblical temples.

International observers have said that the excavation work risks igniting a third Palestinian intifada [uprising] against Israel.

A controversial visit to the al-Aqsa mosque compound in 2000 by Ariel Sharon, then leader of the Israeli opposition, sparked the most recent intifada.

Restricted access

An Arab group at the United Nations appealed on Thursday to the UN security council to stop the excavation work.

In a statement, Arab ambassadors asked the Security Council "to take immediate and urgent measures to put an end to Israeli violations and to guarantee its respect for international law and security council resolutions".

They said in a statement they "denounced the Israeli occupation authority's escalation of its aggression on Islamic endowments in occupied East Jerusalem by starting to destroy a historic route."

'Provocation'

Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, has condemned the Israeli excavations as a provocation to Muslims.

Israeli officials have said some Muslim commentators are using the renovation work as a pretext to stoke anger against Israel.

Speaking during a visit to Spain on Thursday, Tzipi Livni, Israel's foreign minister, accused "political extremists" of trying to "exploit this situation".

Muslims believe the compound, home to the golden-capped Dome of the Rock shrine and al-Aqsa mosque, is where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.

Israel has controlled the compound since the 1967 Mideast War, but has left its administration largely to the Jordanian-controlled Waqf trust and the Palestinians. Agencies

Labels: al-Aqsa, Luar Negeri, Palestin, Ummah

Al Jazeera, February 8 - Rival Palestinian factions holding a second day of talks in Saudi Arabia have reportedly agreed on most of the positions in the joint cabinet.

The meeting, mediated by Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz in Islam's holiest city, aims to bring all Palestinian groups in line with the 2002 initiative, which includes the acknowlegement of Israel.

(Picture left - Discussions have taken place in a palace overlooking the Kaaba, Islam's holiest site, in Mecca - EPA)

Khaled Meshaal, the exiled head of Hamas, will not be the cabinet's deputy head, but all positions except the ministry of interior had apparently been agreed by Thursday.

A full deal would help to end fighting between the two factions that has killed more than 90 Palestinians since December.

Ziyad Abu Amr, an independent MP, is the new foreign minister while Salam Fayyad, from the Third Way party, becomes finance minister.

The remaining ministerial posts include nine ministers from Hamas and six from Fatah. Four other ministerial posts will be distributed among other Palestinian factions.

Independents

Five posts will be assigned to independent politicians not belonging to any political faction. Three of the independents will be nominated by Hamas and two by Fatah.

The Fatah and Hamas delegates discussed the selection of ministers for a coalition cabinet, in particular those who will occupy the powerful interior ministry.

They also discussed how the government's programme will address existing peace accords with Israel.

Hamas, which has long rejected Israel's existence, has declined calls for it to declare its "commitment" to the accords, regarding that as equal to recognition of Israel.

But Nabil Amr, a spokesman for the Fatah delegation, said: "We don't have a problem in accepting the wording 'respect' in the agreements.

"We have informed the Saudis and our brothers in Hamas that we are ready to sign any phrasing accepted by the world for the sake of lifting the siege."

Israeli factor

Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister, said on Wednesday that her country would not accept a Palestinian government that does not explicitly renounce violence and accept the right of Israel to exist.

Whether the agreed coalition government that emerges from Mecca is acceptable to Israel remains to be seen.

Israel has refused to talk to the Hamas-led government, though it has held talks with Abbas.

Flexibility

Fatah officials have said that Abbas has underlined the need for flexibility about a new government to the US, Israel's key ally.

Abbas; Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister; and Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, are due to meet on February 19 in Jerusalem for talks intended to revive the peace process.

Mohammed Nazal of the Hamas delegation said: "The atmosphere is positive."

When delegates arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday night, the Palestinian leaders declared that they could not afford to fail to reach an agreement.

Meshaal said: "We came here to agree and we have no other option but to agree."

Siraj Wahab, a journalist in Mecca, said: "There is every possibility that a comprehensive settlement will come out. And now they are answerable to their people.

"They have committed a major pledge before their people and before the holy Kaaba – that is a huge significance." Agencies

Labels: Luar Negeri, Palestin, Ummah

'Grand operation' against terrorists in tribal areas

Islamabad, February 6 (IANS) - Pakistan has deployed over 2,000 para-military personnel in volatile North and South Waziristan to hunt for "high value" terrorist targets.

The deployment is ahead of what the government calls "grand operation" in its Federally Administered Tribal Area bordering Afghanistan.

"Security forces are expected to begin a grand operation in the troubled Waziristan tribal region to hunt down Al Qaida and Taliban militants, including Baitullah Mehsud, who is holed up in the area," the Daily Times said yesterday quoting unnamed officials. (Picture left - They are alike, two separate bodies but with same ideologies!).

The daily said the intelligence agencies have alerted the Interior Ministry that 15 Taliban fighters arrived in Rawalpindi on January 25 with plans to target US and UN interests in Islamabad. Mehsud was reportedly involved in the kidnapping and murder of two Chinese engineers and their Pakistani driver in 2004. GulfNews

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