Muslim leaders in Malaysia complained that the Scottie dogs that were part of the opening of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow were disrespectful to Muslims. During the opening ceremony, each team was led by a little dog wearing a tartan coat with the name of the country emblazoned on it. Since dogs are considered unclean by Muslims, the Malaysians found the use of the Scottie offensive. In addition, the little dog assigned to Malaysia inexplicably refused to walk ahead of the country’s team, and had to be carried by the team’s representative.
In other news, Hispanic converts to Islam in Miami embraced their new faith as they celebrated the end of Ramadan. Meanwhile, new rules at the Los Angeles County Jail allow Muslim inmates to celebrate Ramadan.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Insubria, JP, LS, Srdja Trifkovic, Vlad Tepes, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
Converted Muslims Embrace New Faith, Celebrate End of Ramadan
As Ramadan comes to an end, Islamic leaders in the Miami area say the Muslim community is growing and continuing to embrace new cultures
Keyla Calix, a 25-year-old Honduran living in downtown Miami, didn’t think her friend’s gift of a Quran would lead her to reject her Catholic upbringing.
But two years later, after a serious evaluation of Islam sparked by the holy book, she will head to a mosque Monday morning for Eid al-Fitr, a celebration that marks the end of Ramadan.
“My family thought that Islam was just for Arabs,” Calix said, “but Islam is for everyone, not just for Arabs or Pakistani.”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Donald Sterling Loses Bid to Block Sale of Clippers
A probate court judge ruled Monday that Donald Sterling, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, could not block the sale of the team that his wife, Rochelle, brokered for $2 billion against his wishes.
The judge, Michael Levanas, said that he found Rochelle Sterling to be a more credible witness than her husband, who acted erratically during several days of testimony, raising his voice at lawyers from both sides, and referring to his wife as “a pig.”
Levanas also ruled that the sale could go through immediately.
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Local Health Care Outreach Program to Muslims Ends With Ramadan
As the holy month of Ramadan comes to a close on Monday, an annual outreach program aimed at educating Chicago-area Muslims about the importance of health care is finishing up as well.
“Ramadan is not just about prayer. It’s about community service,”said Abrar Quader, who attended services at different mosques each night with his father, Azher Quade, executive director of the Compassionate Care Network to help inform people about their coverage options under the Affordable Care Act…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Washington: US President Barack Obama greeted the Muslim community across the world on the occasion of Eid-al-Fitr stating that the festival celebrates the common values that unite humanity and reinforces the obligations that people of all faiths have to each other.
“As Muslims throughout the United States and around the world celebrate Eid-al-Fitr, Michelle and I extend our warmest wishes to them and their families,” Obama said in statement…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Ramadan Highlights Need for Va. Beach Mosque
VIRGINIA BEACH The pastel blue sky darkened as sunset drew nearer.
Dates lay spread on paper plates near stacks of napkins in wicker baskets in the Crescent Community Center’s small kitchen. Rich aromas of warming food filled the room…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Under New Rules, Muslim Inmates in L.A. County Jails Observe Ramadan
The inmate in blue jail-issue scrubs turned toward Mecca and sang the midday call to prayer heard at Muslim places of worship around Southern California on the last Friday of Ramadan.
About 80 other inmates, many wearing traditional caps called kufis with their jail uniforms, sat in the pews of a chapel in Men’s Central Jail during the service led by a volunteer imam.
Before sunrise, the inmates had consumed a breakfast of eggs, peanut butter and jelly, a banana and milk that conformed to Muslim dietary rules…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Commonwealth Games Scottie Dogs ‘Disrespectful to Muslims’
Use of Scottish terrier dogs during Commonwealth Games opening ceremony ‘shameful’ and ‘offensive’, Malaysian politicians claim
Malaysian politicians and religious leaders have attacked the use of Scottie dogs during the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, claiming it was disrespectful to Muslims.
Around 40 Scottie dogs were used in the opening ceremony in Glasgow last Wednesday to lead teams around Celtic Park.
The dogs, which all wore tartan dog coats with the name of each team on them, were widely praised on social media, with many people stating they thought they had “stolen the show”. Hamish, who led out the Scotland team, received one of the biggest cheers of the night.
Judy Murray tweeted after the ceremony: “Scottie dogs in tartan coats at CG opening ceremony. Barkingly brilliant.”
However, not everyone was as impressed. Political and religious leaders in Malaysia have claimed the use of dogs connected to Muslim countries was “disrespectful”.
Many Muslims refuse to have direct contact with dogs, which are considered by some to be “unclean” in Islamic culture. Some overseas Muslim groups have reportedly previously called for a jihad on dogs.
Possibly making matters worse was the fact that Jock, who was supposed to lead out the Malaysian team, sat down and refused to move as soon as his coat was put on, meaning he had to be carried by the team representative.
Mohamad Sabu, the deputy president of the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party said: “Malaysia and all Islamic countries deserve and apology from the organiser.
“This is just so disrespectful to Malaysia and Muslims — especially as it happened during Ramadan. Muslims are not allowed to touch dogs, so the organiser should have been more aware and sensitive on this issue.
“It is hoped this incident can teach other Western countries to be more respectful in the future.”…
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
France: Muslims Prepare for Eid Al-Fitr Festival
The Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr that marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan will begin on Monday in many countries around the world, including Gulf states and France.
The religious authorities in Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday they had received reports of sightings of the new moon, marking the end of Ramadan. “Eid al-Fitr will therefore be celebrated from Monday,” an official statement said.
Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen have all also said the festival will begin in their countries on Monday.
In France, which is home to the largest Muslim community in Europe, the official body representing Islam, too, decided to celebrate Eid on Monday. French Muslims had previously split on the date of Ramadan’s start…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Soccer: Tavecchio Not Backing Down, FIFA Demands Probe
Head of amateur leagues under pressure over banana comments
(ANSA) — Rome, July 28 — Carlo Tavecchio said Monday that he was not dropping his bid to become the president of the Italian Soccer Federation (FIGC) after causing a racism storm by suggesting some Serie A clubs had “banana-eating” non-EU players.
The 71-year-old, the head of Italy’s amateur soccer leagues, was speaking after international soccer’s governing body FIFA said it was demanding the FIGC open a probe into his remarks.
“I have the support of the (Italian) leagues,” Tavecchio, who is also FIGC vice president, told ANSA. “I’m going ahead with my bid to be president of the FIGC…
Now let’s fight discrimination in sport”. Tavecchio sparked the racism storm last week when he was outlining his plans for Italian football if he takes the helm of the federation. The 71-year-old made the remarks when he calling for tighter restrictions on non-EU players in Italian soccer. “In England, they identify the players coming in and, if they are professional, they are allowed to play,” Tavecchio said. “Here, on the other hand, we get ‘Opti Pobà’, who was eating bananas until recently and then suddenly becomes at starter with Lazio”. The comments led to calls for Tavecchio to drop his bid to become FIGC chief, including from senior members of Premier Matteo Renzi’s centre-left Democratic Party (PD). Italian soccer has a big problem with racism on the terraces, so many argued Tavecchio will now have no credibility to fight this problem if he does take the job. Tavecchio had looked on course to be elected FIGC chief at an assembly in Rome on August 11, with all of Serie A’s clubs willing to back him expect for champions Juventus and AS Roma.
But Fiorentina and Sampdoria have pulled their support for him as a result of his remarks. “We cannot go on like this,” Sampdoria Chairman Massimo Ferrero told ANSA on Monday. “The Serie A League cannot pretend nothing has happened.
The chairmen must meet as soon as possible and revise our position”. Tavecchio’s only rival for the FIGC presidency is former AC Milan and Italy midfielder Demetrio Albertini, who is also a vice president of the federation.
The post is vacant after Giancarlo Abete quit following Italy’s group-stage exit from the World Cup last month.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Lest We Forget the Worldwide War
As the centenary of the First World War nears, we must reflect on the Empire’s sacrifices, says Hew Strachan
The Great War was a global conflict, and yet the commemoration of its centenary is becoming resolutely local. That is true of countries other than Britain, but it is for Britain that the effects are so misleading. In 1914 the British Empire — not Britain — went to war…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Murdoch’s Sky News Uses Self Confessed Anti-Semite as Talking Head on Anti-Semitism
Britain’s Sky News channel, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox company, has used the self confessed ‘prejudiced’ Mira Bar-Hillel as a talking head and authority on the subject of anti-Semitism.
Bar-Hillel, who is known for her irrational loathing of the State of Israel, was featured on Sky News as a panellist discussing the rise of anti-Semitism in the UK…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: The Cricketers Who Fought for Their Country in World War One
by Tom Rowley
More than 200 professional cricketers in England signed up to fight in the summer of 2014 and obituaries replaced match reports in Wisden. A new book tells the story of the men who played, and fought, for their country
On the bank holiday evening of Monday August 3 1914, Lionel Tennyson dreamt of victory. Not in a corner of a foreign field, but on the finely-trimmed grass at Lord’s.
The 24-year-old, grandson of the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, had begun playing Test cricket a year earlier but had yet to score a match-winning century for his country. That night, from his bed in a smart corner of London, he achieved that feat, and the crowd was suitably effusive. In fact, their applause refused to die down.
Tennyson awoke, realising the noise was actually that of the night porter thumping on the door to deliver an urgent telegram. By eight o’clock the next morning, Tennyson was at barracks in Colchester, preparing to resist the German invasion of Belgium, which began that day…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
What the German Georges Did for Britain
By Harry Mount
When I visited Hanover earlier this year, my immediate thoughts were not of Georgian kings, but of the Second World War. Because the city in Lower Saxony was a German railway and manufacturing hub, it got a severe pounding from the Allies. For all the careful rebuilding of the two town halls and the Martkirche, its most famous Gothic church, there are still ugly scars left by the bombs, unhealed by dreary, post-war boulevards of steel and glass…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Tunisia: Weekend of Attacks, Two Soldiers Dead, One Wounded
Attacks at the Algerian border. Evacuation plan from Libya
(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, JULY 28 — After official celebrations and calls for unity on Tunisia’s Republic Day Friday, the Maghreb country was once again at the center of terror attacks over the weekend. On Saturday afternoon in Sakiet Sidi Youssef (in the region of Kef, close to the Algerian border), two soldiers died in an ambush and four other people, including a civilian aged 16, were injured. On the same day, one security official was injured in a shoot-out in Mahdia which was part of a police operation that led to the arrest of a reportedly dangerous terrorist, and an attack by unknown gunmen on a military base in Kasserine.
The area along the Algerian border, including mount Chaambi, which has become a terror stronghold, has long been targeted by Islamic extremist groups. However now the eastern border with Libya is also a source of concern as the neighboring country has plunged back into civil war.
An inter-ministerial security committee chaired by Premier Jomaa has drafted a plan to evacuate Tunisians living in Libya.
The plan also provides for the evacuation of refugees of other nationalities through airports inside the country and to control the immigration of refugees from the border crossings of Ras Jedir and Wazen-Dhiba. Also, a center to communicate with families of the Tunisian community in Libya has been set up, along with a toll free number.
Jomaa stressed the need to organize security measures along the Libyan border and increase surveillance to control immigration to Tunisia.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Ceasefire Declared in Gaza as Death Toll Tops 1,000
Report by Charlotte Cross
A humanitarian ceasefire declared in Gaza in honour of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr celebrations is “unlimited”, Israeli military sources have said.
Israeli military sources on Monday said the ceasefire was not time-limited, while reports suggested both sides have already violated the agreement…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Channel 4’s Jon Snow on Gaza: Fair and Balanced, Anyone?
Channel 4 News anchorman Jon Snow is back from Gaza. In an obviously unscripted, from-the-heart piece to camera he had this to say to British TV audiences about his experiences…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Gaza Fighting Abates as Diplomatic Tension Flares
(Reuters) — Israel eased its assaults in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave declined sharply on Monday, the military said, with both the United States and United Nations calling for a durable ceasefire…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Israeli Halt of Fire in Gaza is “Unlimited” — Military Source
JERUSALEM, July 28 (Reuters) — An Israeli halt of fire in the Gaza Strip is “unlimited,” a military source said on Monday, as fighting with Palestinian militants abated…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Ten Thousand Gather Peacefully in Manhattan to Support Israel Against Hamas Terrorism
by Phyllis Chesler
An estimated ten thousand (busy) people came out in New York today, unable to stay away, needing to be there with each other: with Israel, in public, on record.
Our finest and most cherished young men are heroically fighting and dying so that our people might continue to live. Just today, a meeting of European Jewish leaders was held in the Knesset. They talked about how the level of anti-Semitism has rapidly approachedHolocaust-era levels.
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UN Security Council Officially Calls for Unconditional Cease-Fire in Gaza
All 15 council members announced statement, previously drafted by Jordan; statement emphasizes that civilian, humanitarian facilities must be respected until after Eid al-Fitr which marks the end of Ramadan.
The UN Security Council made a statement Monday morning urging Israel and Hamas to implement an unconditional humanitarian truce beyond the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr and engage in efforts to achieve a durable cease-fire…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Family of Jesuit Kidnapped in Syria Appeal for News
One year after disappearance, amid hope and ‘readiness to mourn’
(ANSA) — Beirut, July 28 — The family of kidnapped Italian Jesuit priest Paolo Dall’Oglio on Monday called on his abductors to reveal his fate, one year after he went missing in Syria. “We want to hug him again, but we are also ready to mourn him,” his relatives said in the appeal, which they sent to ANSA.
A long-time promoter of interfaith dialogue in Syria, where he had lived for 30 years, Dall’Oglio was expelled by Damascus authorities in 2012.
He returned a year later to help mediate a hostage release and a truce between warring factions in northern Syria, according to activists who helped him cross the Turkish border at the time.
Dall’Oglio was last heard from in a July 27, 2013, email to his family from the northeastern Syrian city of Raqqa. He was kidnapped sometime between then and July 29, on his way to an undisclosed location along the Euphrates river.
Since then, conflicting and unconfirmed reports from disparate sources have claimed he has been killed or alternately, that he is being held by jihadists and is in good health.
In the latest such report, well-informed sources recently told ANSA that Dall’Oglio is allegedly being detained in the province of Raqqa.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Islamic State Militants Open Office for Potential Wives: Monitor
(Reuters) — Islamic State insurgents have opened an office in northern Syria where single women and widows can register to marry fighters from the radical al Qaeda offshoot, a monitoring group said on Monday.
The office in al-Bab, a town northeast of Aleppo city, records the names and addresses of the women so that Islamic State militants can go to their families and make a formal offer of marriage, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The Observatory, which cited sources in al-Bab and Aleppo, is based in Britain and relies on a network of people on the ground in Syria to report information. It was not immediately possible to confirm the report independently.
There have been previous reports of militants seeking wives or forcing women to marry them in areas where the group has been active. The Observatory’s director, Rami Abdurrahman, said it was the first time he had heard of the group setting up a formal office to register potential spouses.
Islamic State has set strict limits on women’s rights in areas it controls. A group statement issued last week said women in the Iraqi city of Mosul, which the rebels captured in June, had been warned to wear full-face veils or risk severe punishment. The statement also listed guidelines on how veils and clothes should be worn, part of Islamic State’s campaign to forcibly impose their radical brand of Islam…
| — Hat tip: LS | [Return to headlines] |
Lavrov, Kerry Urge for Ceasefire, Negotiation in Ukraine
MOSCOW, July 27 (Xinhua) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday called for immediate ceasefire in Ukraine’s conflict zone as well as negotiations between the conflicting parties, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
“Russian and U.S. top foreign policy officials agreed that it was important to end the fight in the conflict zone immediately, and to start talks between the conflicting parties in compliance with the Geneva statement made by Russia, the U.S. and Ukraine on April 17,” the ministry said…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
by Srdja Trifkovic | July 28, 2014
In the end we may never know with certainty who shot down the Malaysian airliner on July 17, and under what circumstances. My assessment, made in the immediate aftermath of the disaster — that it was engineered by deliberately guiding the airliner into harm’s way — will be further examined in this article. Patrick Buchanan’s opinion that “it was a horrendous military blunder like the U.S. shoot-down of the Iranian Airbus by the Vincennes in 1988” — in other words a manslaughter, rather than murder — is shared by the US intelligence community, whose early assessment is that the separatists shot the plane down by accident.
Numerous new, potentially troubling aspects of the story have emerged over the past ten days, however, and they should be scrutinized if and when there is an impartial investigation. For now, they remain underreported or simply ignored in the Western media coverage of the event. The nature of that coverage has been summarized by Andrew Marshall, Reuters’ two-term former bureau chief in Baghdad:…
| — Hat tip: Srdja Trifkovic | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. And Europe Agree to Sharply Escalate Sanctions on Russia
The United States and Europe put aside their differences and agreed on Monday to sharply escalate economic sanctions against Russia in a set of coordinated actions driven by the conclusion that Moscow has taken a more direct role in the war in Ukraine.
After months in which European leaders were hesitant to go as far as the Americans, the two sides settled on a package of measures that would target Russia’s financial, energy and defense sectors. In some cases, the Europeans may actually leapfrog beyond what the United States has done, forcing Washington to try to catch up.
The agreement came during an unusual five-way video conference between President Obama and his counterparts from Britain, France, Germany and Italy in advance of a European Union meeting scheduled for Tuesday to consider new sanctions against Russia. American and European officials said the leaders agreed that Russia has not only not backed down since the shooting of a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet but has also accelerated its involvement in Ukraine’s burgeoning civil war.
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U.S. Says Russia Violated Arms Treaty
The United States has concluded that Russia’s test of a ground-launched cruise missile violated a landmark treaty, and informed President Vladimir V. Putin of the findings in a letter on Monday.
The 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty bans medium-range missiles, which are defined as ground-launched ballistic or cruise missiles capable of flying 300 to 3,400 miles. It was signed by President Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, who was then the Soviet leader, and helped seal the end of the Cold War.
The allegation adds another dispute to a relationship already burdened by tensions over the Kremlin’s support for separatists in Ukraine.
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India: Uttar Pradesh: Curfew Imposed After Violence Between Sikhs and Muslims
The clashes sparked by dispute over land. Three killed, 20 injured and 38 arrests. According to the authorities the Muslims started the riots. But members of both communities claim that the violence was perpetrated by “outsiders, not locals. Perhaps there are political motivations”.
New Delhi (AsiaNews / Agencies) — The Uttar Pradesh government has imposed a curfew in the city of Saharanpur, the last two days have been marred by violent clashes between Muslim and Sikh communities. Three people were killed and another 20 were injured in the disorder. Police arrested 38 people in connection with the episode and has orders to “shoot on sight” anyone who attempts to cross the barricades erected to divide the two communities.
The violence erupted on the morning of July 26, after Sikhs began building a Gurdwara (Sikh temple) on a plot at the center of a legal dispute with the Islamic community, which claims the plot as its own. In the clashes about 20 vehicles and more than 70 shops along the main street were burned.
Quazi Nadeem Akhtar, a leader of the Muslim community, says that he accompanied others to the city magistrate after learning of the building. “Our protest was peaceful — he explains — we asked the police to stop them, but nobody did anything. We were there to talk, but the officers began firing into the air to disperse the crowd. At that point, the group was enraged and believed that the police and administration were conniving with the Sikhs … it was difficult to stop, even though we did our best to control the situation”.
Instead authorities claim over 700 people from the Islamic community arrived on the disputed scene, and began throwing stones at police and then attacked the Sikhs with swords and guns.
However, some suspect that the violence was “instigated” by outside elements with the explicit purpose of fomenting tensions. A woman of 32, a member of the local Muslim community, said: “Saharanpur, where I live for years, is now split in two. I cannot go see my friends, and they cannot come to me. Yesterday, some men came to this area with the police and started firing rubber bullets… They smashed the window panes of the mosques, torched cars and damaged shops. I don’t know who they are and why they came here. I just know that this Eid is not going to be the same. Who are we scared of? The people we lived with for so many years?”.
Even Gursharan Kaur, a Sikh of 58, says the same: “Our communities have co-existed peacefully for many years. I do not know if it is politically motivated or not. But I saw that the maximum violence was being done by outsiders, not the locals. I do not remember seeing any known Muslim face among the people who were torching vehicles and burning down shops. It seems that it was all pre-planned”.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistani Forces Clear 70 Percent of Second Militants’ Stronghold
ISLAMABAD, July 27 (Xinhua) — Pakistani security forces have cleared 70 percent area of the armed militants in their second stronghold in North Waziristan tribal region, the army said Sunday.
The armed forces last month launched a major offensive against the Pakistani Taliban and foreign militants in the region bordering Afghanistan after peace talks collapsed.
The army spokesman said a total of 570 “terrorists” had been killed since start of Operation codenamed “Zarb-e-Azb”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Singapore: Sultan Mosque’s S$3.45m Upgrade to Start in August
SINGAPORE — Sultan Mosque’s S$3.45 million mosque upgrade will start next month and visitors will be able to enjoy the new lifts by the fourth quarter of next year.
As announced in February, two lifts will be added to the mosque and current ablution areas will be replaced by more spacious ones. The domes will also be refurbished, electrical installations rewired, and a new coat of paint given to the entire complex…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Thailand: Girl Killed, 6 People Injured in Pattani
Bomb targets security patrol at mosque
One girl was killed and six other people — two rangers, two young girls and two women — wounded by a bomb explosion in a village in Sai Buri district of Pattani province on Sunday night, police said.
The attack occurred about 9.15pm when a team of soldiers from Rangers Company 4413 were patrolling around Ban Tobala in tambon Kadunong on a pick-up truck, providing security for the village mosque.
When the patrol vehicle was about 300m from the mosque, a home-made roadside bomb was detonated…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
China Says May Have Citizens Fighting in Iraq
BEIJING (Reuters) — Muslim extremists from China’s far western region of Xinjiang have gone to the Middle East for training and some may have crossed into Iraq to participate in the upsurge of violence there, China’s special envoy for the Middle East said on Monday…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Australia Gives 5 Million AuD for Gaza Relief
SYDNEY, July 28 (Xinhua) — The Australian government is providing 5 million Australian dollars (4.7 million U.S. dollars) in urgent humanitarian assistance to Gaza, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop announced Monday…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
New Zealand: Muslims Await New Moon Sighting
Muslims in New Zealand will mark the end of Ramadan on Tuesday, after the new moon proved elusive on Sunday.
The holy month of Ramadan, during which Muslims abstain from eating and drinking during daylight hours, is either 29 or 30 days long, depending on when the moon can first be spotted with the naked eye.
Federation of Islamic Associations president Dr Anwar Ghani said the lunar no-show would be welcomed by Muslims.
“There won’t be any complaint as such — they will be rather happy that there will be another day of Ramadan because it is a blessed month in which your prayers are heard by God.”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Ramadan Ends: Muslims Celebrate Eid Al-Fitr at Lakemba in Sydney’s South-West
Huge crowds lined the streets of Lakemba in Sydney’s south-west this morning to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
Australia’s Muslim communities gathered at mosques for morning prayers as the festival of Eid al-Fitr began, bringing an end to a month of fasting from sunrise to sunset. Eid al-Fitr is also know as “the feast of breaking the fast” and occurs with the sighting of the new moon.
Dozens of stalls set up in Lakemba’s streets were this morning selling traditional food.
New South Wales Premier Mike Baird was among the dignitaries invited to attend the festival. He said he wanted the Muslim community to know they would always have an ally. “A friend here in New South Wales, a friend leading the Government. We will always listen to them and always respond to them,” he said…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Tension Ahead of Kalgoorlie Mosque Debate
Kalgoorlie-Boulder will have police on stand-by on Monday night when anti-mosque campaigners are expected to protest while Council debates a controversial proposal.
The Facebook page “Stop the mosque in Kalgoorlie Boulder” has created an event — “voice your objections to the proposed mosque” — urging supporters to attend council at 7pm to protest the proposed mosque. “Stand up for Australia and stop this abhorrent proposed mosque in Kalgoorlie!,” the event invitation says.
“Every man and his dog head to the Kalgoorlie town hall at 7pm to voice our outright objections to this vile mosque!”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Female Suicide Bomber Kills Three in North Nigeria
Woman with explosive hidden in clothes hits petrol station line
(ANSA) — Kano, Nigeria — A female suicide bomber exploded a bomb in a line of women queuing up to buy petrol at a gas station in northern Nigeria Monday, leaving three people fatally wounded and injuring seven others, police said.
Eyewitnesses said the suicide bomber had the explosive hidden under her clothes in the attack in the Hotoro neighbourhood.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Kenya: Police Kill Two Terror Suspects in Likoni, Mombasa
Police from the Special Crime Prevention Unit have shot dead two suspected terror suspects at the Likoni Ferry Matatu stage in Mombasa. Mombasa County Commander Robert Kitur said the two were inside a matatu and refused to alight when police stopped the matatu.
Kitur said one of the suspect had a Russian made hand grenade which he attempted to detonate before he was shot dead. Police recovered a pistol from the suspects. “One of the men still has the pin of the grenade in his mouth,” said a witness of the shooting…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Nigeria: Eid-El-Fitri — Military Bans Vehicular Movement in Maiduguri for 3 Days
Maiduguri/Abuja — Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger raise joint force against terrorism
To forestall impending attacks on Maiduguri by the Boko Haram terrorist group during the Eid-el-Fitri celebration, the military and other security agencies have mounted heavy security checkpoints at various locations in the troubled town and banned all vehicular movement throughout the festive period. It also emerged yesterday that Ministers of Defence from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Republic of Niger have constituted a regional security force against terrorism…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Second Female Suicide Bomber Wounds Six in Nigerian Mall
Attack comes shortly after petrol station bombing
(ANSA) — Lagos, July 28 — Six people were injured when a woman suicide bomber blew herself up in a shopping centre in the Nigerian city of Kano on Monday.
The attack came shortly after another woman launched a fatal attack at a petrol station in the north Nigerian city, killing at least three people and wounding seven others. “This was the same technique,” said Kano police chief Aderele Shinaba.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
South Africa: Zuma Wishes Muslims a Blessed Eid
Johannesburg — President Jacob Zuma wished the Muslim community Eid Mubarak on Sunday.
“It is a day of great joy for our Muslim compatriots as it marks the end of the month-long fast of Ramadaan,” Zuma said in a statement. “This period demands sacrifice, commitment, perseverance and discipline. It also nurtures a high sense of spirituality and generosity to those less fortunate.”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark: Tougher Integration Requirements Needed for Muslims, Says Venstre
Spokesperson says Muslim immigrants “create problems”
Immigrants from non-Western countries create the most integration problems in Denmark, so they should face tougher demands, according to Venstre spokesperson Inger Støjberg.
Støjberg wrote in a Berlingske editorial that Muslim immigrants have the hardest time integrating in Denmark and that it should be an iron-clad requirement that they are either getting an education or have a job before they can stay in the country.
Outrageous
Støjberg pointed to Imam Abu Bilal, a regular speaker at the Grimhøj Mosque in Aarhus, and his statement that Muslims should ask for the help of Allah to kill Jews as evidence that some Muslims are not integrating well.
“That’s outrageous, and it casts shame on Islam,” Støjberg wrote in Berlingske…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
“It is hoped this incident can teach other Western countries to be more respectful in the future.”…
Isn’t it time muslims were taught to be more respectful of their host countries? The disgusting grievance mongering of those said to represent muslim participants in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow are just looking for trouble for the sake of it.
Maybe we should all be demanding apologies from the European Union for allowing such despicable retarded creatures as muslims into our countries.
” Maybe we should all be demanding apologies from the European Union for allowing such despicable retarded creatures as muslims into our countries.”
And do apologies benefit or change anything? To keep his job a western politician will apologize ten times, even he will claim to a Christian if that will get him elected.
The problem is not muslims. Muslims marry 4 wombs each will produce 11 *4 = 52 some will have twins, Usama bin Laden had/has 52 jihadis. The problem is with the elected liars of the west. They, in the name of charity, humanity, compassion, tolerance and other empty concepts that come from empty minds and empty consciences, reduced the western “democracies” into jihadi lands, and launchpads for future caliphates.
Never in the history of this unlucky man has so many people paid so much homage and reverence to so few, and hold high a single deadly “religion” and stupidly and out of fear call it the religion of peace.
This has been going on for the last 60 years. These “democracies” are becoming dumping grounds for jihadis. How can such democracies become so blind, unreasoning, low, base, cad, hater s of their own people, glorifiers, lauders, of everything islam.
What’s the use of opinions if one can’t differentiate between good and bad opinions, or if you don’t learn a lesson from events: 9/11, Londonistan bombing, Madrid, bombing, Boston . . . etc. Not to mention what the religion of peace is committing in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Nigeria, ” #bring our girls.” Crayon and cardboard. What an effective method of fighting oppressors by high ranking ladies!
How much more blood shed do we have to experience to change or dead brains? We were amazed at our British teacher when she would say, ” You don’t have to eat the whole egg to know it is addled. Only a small portion will do.” Only one bombing will do. T o hell with those who have no honor or scruples and hate their own native Christian-Jewish people.
Political activism via sports in Europe AD 2014
What does “an English” cricket player look like these days? And, why has the Guardian(….) cut off his long black beard from the photo, as they are talking about his political support for Gaza and “Palestine”?
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/jul/29/moeen-ali-wristbands-england-india-icc
Still so proud of Jock, that proud Scottish terrior who refused to represent a disgusting country Malaysia, like it is even a country. Certainly not a modern or civilized one. My Canadian Scottie might ask why are civilized countries still in this charade. The Scotties were the hit of the show. Let’s ask ourselves why that creepy islamist can’t stand man’s best friend. Most of us know the answer.
Interesting why mahoundians hate dogs. When I was in Pakistan, the men there were very fond of donkies and sheep.
I went vegetarian to avoid being served mutton as I was greatly concerned as to what might have been done to the poor creature before it had been slaughtered, presumably according to halaal instructions.
I wonder, is there a halaal way for muslims to commit bestiality?
“is there a halaal way for muslims to commit bestiality?”
Yes. See for example: http://www.wikiislam.net/wiki/Islam_and_Bestiality
and its links
Goooood dogs!
A big juicy bone for each dog and a Quran.