YEMEN - 15 killed and 55 hurt in a bombing at a Musjid in Saada during Juma prayers. Hundreds killed in clashes in the region since a conflict between govt forces and Shia rebels broke out in 2004. (BBC, May 1)
TURKEY - Secular elements have taken the ruling Islamic-inclined AKP party to the constitutional court, trying to close down the party. This follows the AKP govt recently changing the constitution, so girls could cover their heads in universities. AKP won 47% in last year's elections. (BBC, Mar 31)
UAE - The Dubai World Cup is the world's richest horse race with prize money of £3m (R45m). (BBC, Mar 29)
NEPAL - Two killed and one injured after Choti Musjid was bombed in Biratnagar during evening prayers. A Hindu extremist group, the Nepal Defence Army, claimed to have carried out the attack. (BBC, Mar 30)
HOLLAND - Dutch MP Wilder, leader of the Freedom Party made an anti-Islam film called Fitna. It was condemned by the Dutch govt and UN Sec Gen, and Dutch broadcasters have avoided showing it. Dozens of Indonesians demonstrated outside the Dutch embassy. (BBC, Mar 28, 31)
KASHMIR - 8 killed and 30 trapped in a huge landslide in Kshtwar. (BBC, May 1)
News in Brief May 2008 Edition 2
News in Brief May 2008 Edition 1
OGADEN - The Bush govt blocked a congressional resolution, approved by the House of Representatives criticising Ethiopia's human rights in Ogaden, a mainly Muslim Somali region, where the army is fighting a war against Muslim freedom fighters. Commercial food deliveries to Ogaden have been blocked by Ethiopia for 10 months. (BBC , Dec 7)
SOMALIA - Amnesty International says that Ethiopian troops killed 21 people at a Musjid, including Tabligh Jamaat Ulama who are not involved in the fighting. Some had their throats slit. Amnesty also said soldiers took away 40 children during the raid on al-Hidaya Musjid. Over 80 people killed in fierce fighting between Ethiopian troops and freedom fighters in Mogadishu. UN says that Ethiopia is using indiscriminate force against civilians in contravention of international humanitarian law. 750,000 residents fled Mogadishu in the past year following the Ethiopian invasion. (BBC, Apr 24)
ALGERIA - Society of Algerian Muslim Scholars denounced a govt ban on pictures of veiled women and bearded men in passport photographs. The army has fought a bloody battle against Islamists, leaving 100,000 people dead, after cancelling elections in 1996 which Islamists won. (BBC, Apr 23)
QATAR - Ethiopian govt broke off diplomatic relations with Qatar after Qatar-based Al-Jazeera TV broadcast reports from Muslim Ogaden which is occupied by Ethiopia. They also claim Qatar is giving $150,000 a month to Eritrea, which then go to fund the Ogaden National Liberation Front. (BBC, Apr 21)
VATICAN - The number of Muslims has, for the first time, overtaken the number of Roman Catholics in the world, according to Vatican officials. Muslims made up 19.2% of the world's population and Catholics 17.4%. (The Times, Apr 1)
CHECHNYA - A battle took place between a Mujahideen unit and Russians May 2, near Roshni Chu in the Caucasus Emirate. 9 enemy soldiers were killed. (Kavkaz Centre, May 3)
Makkah Time to Replace GMT
Muslim scientists and clerics have called for the adoption of Makkah time to replace GMT, arguing that the Saudi city is the true centre of the Earth.
Makkah is the direction all Muslims face when they perform their daily prayers.
News in Brief April 2008
USA - The credit crunch has hit the US economy hard. Loans that looked rock-solid a year ago now look shaky and banks are folding up. US house prices fall for the first time since the Depression in the 1930s. (BBC , Mar 18)
COMOROS - Soldiers from Comoros (99% Muslim) clashed with forces on Anjouan island loyal to a renegade leader. Comoran troops took all major towns. Anjouan wants to break away from the Comoros. (BBC, Mar 25)
ZANZIBAR - Tanzania's ruling party will share power with opposition Civic United Front on the semi-autonomous islands of Muslim Zanzibar. Zanzibar has a political union with Tanzania, but its own parliament and president. (BBC, Mar 18)
GUANTANAMO BAY - 17 Chinese Muslims held at the US concentration camp for 6 years were approved for release in 2004. They are Uighurs from Muslim Xinjiang province in China. Xinjiang is seeking autonomy from China and there’s sporadic fighting there. The 17 wrote in a letter that they are held in small, window-less cells, in solitary confinement for 22 hours a day. (BBC, Mar 20)
IRAQ - 4,000 US troops killed since the occupation. Officially 29,451 have been wounded but estimates range up to 100,000. (Antiwar.com, Apr 2)
SAUDI ARABIA - Middle East's first women-only hotel opens in Riyadh with 25 rooms, conference facilities and health and beauty treatments. Owned by 20 Saudi princesses and businesswomen, it’s the first Saudi hotel available to women all the time. It’s women-owned and run with no men on the premises. (BBC, Mar 19)
PALESTINE - US presidential hopeful McCain approved Israel's brutal onslaught on Gaza in March, which killed 120 civilians including 25 children. He affirmed his commitment to Israel and attacked liberation groups Hamas and Hezbollah. (BBC, Mar 19)
TURKEY - Directorate for Religious Affairs says the state spends R12bn each year funding 85,000 Musjids and paying Imams’ wages. (BBC, Mar 19)
KOSOVO - Croatia and Hungary joined 30 countries in officially recognising Muslim Kosovo's independence from Serbia. Serbs clashed with UN police in Mitrovica, killing a UN officer. (BBC, Mar 19)
UK - The Court of Appeal ruled that a marriage recognised in Bangladesh under Sharia law is not legal in the UK and thus refused to allow a Muslim man’s wife to come to the UK. (BBC, Mar 19)
SAUDI ARABIA - Vatican holding talks with Saudi on building the first church there. The last Christian priest was expelled in 1985. This comes after the first Roman Catholic church in the Qatari capital, Doha, was opened. (BBC, Mar 18)
YEMEN - Guard killed in mortar explosion near the US embassy in Sanaa. (BBC, Mar 18)
KUWAIT - The Emir dissolved parliament after cabinet resigned. Elections in 2006 saw Islamists getting nearly two-thirds of the seats. (BBC, Mar 19)
INDONESIA - Parliament passed a bill criminalising those who visit pornographic internet sites. Anyone guilty could be jailed up to 3 years. (BBC, Mar 25)
EGYPT - US navy ship killed an Egyptian civilian and injured 2 when it fired shots at boats in the Suez Canal. (BBC, Mar 26)
SOMALIA - Polio eliminated from Somalia says UN World Health Organisation. (BBC, Mar 25)
PAKISTAN - Musharraf swore in Yusuf Gillani as PM, leading a govt opposed to him. (BBC, Mar 25)
IRAQ - Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his Mahdi Army fighters to withdraw from the streets of several provinces after 6 days of fighting with Iraqi forces following an Iraqi army crackdown in Basra which sparked fighting across the country. 270 people died. (Radio Islam, Mar 31)
CHINA - Protesters in Hotan in Xinjiang, a mostly Muslim region which wants independence, demanded authorities scrap a proposed headscarf ban and that China stop using torture to suppress Muslim demands for greater autonomy. (BBC, Apr 2)
UZBEKISTAN - A big demonstration took place, the first since protests were crushed by forces 3 years ago. Hundreds of market traders took to the streets to oppose relocation of a bazaar. In 2005, troops killed over 1,000 Muslim civilians. (BBC, Apr 1)
SWEDEN - Archaeologists discovered a hoard of Viking-age silver Arab coins near Stockholm's Arlanda airport. They date from the 7th to 9th Century, when Viking traders travelled widely. Most of the coins were minted in Baghdad and Damascus. (BBC, Apr 4)
SAUDI ARABIA - A 12th century key of the Ka’bah auctioned for R140m at Sothebys. There are 58 keys, all besides this one in museums. (BBC, Apr 10)
USA - Mandela and ANC leaders still listed as terrorists by the USA. They need special waivers to gain entry to the US. (BBC, Apr 10)
Holy Islamic key sets sale record
The key to the Kaaba - the ancient cube-shaped shrine in Makkah - went to an anonymous bidder at Sotheby's.
Read More ...
WORLD NEWS DECEMBER 2007
SAUDI ARABIA - Ministry of Haj banned ‘5 star’ Haj camps for wealthy businessmen. (Darulihsan, Nov 27)
IRAQ - US troops fired on a taxi taking bank staff to work in Baghdad killing 3 women. (AP, Nov 27)
PALESTINE - 40 countries attended Palestinian-Israeli conference in USA. They included Syria and Saudi Arabia. Elected govt of Palestine, Hamas, boycotted talks. (BBC, Nov 26)
AFGHANISTAN - Independent think-tank Senlis Council says Taliban has permanent presence in 54% of the country. (BBC, Nov 27)
USA - US bank Citigroup to sell shares worth R50bn to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, which will become the largest shareholder. Citigroup has been hit hard by US home bond problems. (BBC, Nov 27)
JORDAN - Islamist opposition, Islamic Action Front, won only 6 of the 22 seats it contested in parliamentary polls, marred by vote-rigging and fraud. 17 people arrested for interfering with the electoral process. (BBC, Nov 21)
UAE - Dubai International Capital, an investment firm owned by the Dubai government bought a stake in Sony. A 3% share is R10.35bn at current price. (BBC, Nov 26)
UZBEKISTAN - UN Committee Against Torture is concerned over widespread torture in Uzbekistan especially against Islamic activists. (BBC, Nov 23)
MALAYSIA - Tear gas and water cannon used to disperse 5,000 people rallying outside UK High Commission calling on UK govt to pay R28 trillion compensation to 2 million Indians in Malaysia whose ancestors were taken there as labourers in the 19th century. (BBC, Nov 25)
INDONESIA - 3 killed and 45 hurt after 2 powerful earthquakes struck Sumbawa island. 500 buildings were destroyed. The island of Sumatra was also hit by a powerful earthquake. (BBC, Nov 26)
PALESTINE - 1. Israel signed an agreement with Liberia to search for diamonds there. The diamond trade is one of Israel's largest industries, with polished diamonds accounting for R45bn of the country's exports in 2006. 2. Jewish PM Olmert called on Palestinians to recognise Israel as a Jewish state as a condition for peace talks. 3. Israeli Supreme Court ruled govt can continue cutbacks of fuel to Gaza. Human rights groups called it illegal collective punishment. 100 of the 150 petrol stations in Gaza closed due to shortages. (BBC, Nov 15, 20, 30)
UK - Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams launched a stinging attack on US policy in Iraq and other places, comparing it unfavourably with the British Empire. (BBC, Nov 25)
PAKISTAN - Mir Marri, head of Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) was killed in Afghanistan. Balochistan has biggest reserves of natural gas in the world and large deposits of gold. BLA has been fighting since 2000 for autonomy. (BBC, Nov 21)
SA - Imam of Musjidul Aqsa, Sheikh Ali Abbasi visited SA and held talks in Port Elizabeth.
PAKISTAN - Troops carried out a major offensive against pro-Taleban Mujahideen in Swat valley. Mujahideen control several towns there. (BBC, Nov 25)
TURKEY - 57 Turks died when a plane crashed on a flight from Istanbul. (BBC, Nov 30)
EGYPT - 4 police were jailed for beating a man to death in detention. There have been many reports of abuse of detainees by police. (BBC, Nov 28)
SAUDI ARABIA - 208 ‘militants’ arrested in recent months. (BBC, Nov 28)
USA - Policemen in Texas filed a lawsuit that a ban on beards is discriminatory to blacks. (BBC, Nov 29)
ALGERIA - Minister of War Veterans said French PM owed his election to the Jewish lobby. (BBC, Nov 29)
DENMARK - Danish activist group Fighters & Lovers charged with sponsoring terrorism after selling T-shirts supporting Palestinian group PFLP. R50 of each sale was for humanitarian projects in Palestine. (Guardian, Nov 29)
PALESTINE - Jewish court sentenced Sheikh Tamimi, head of Supreme Islamic Judicial Council to 6 months suspended. He was charged with entering Musjid Al Aqsa without a permit. Tamimi said the permit system is a violation of the 4th Geneva Convention, Human Rights and the Freedom of Worship. (IMEMC News, Nov 20)
USA - US military uses 340,000 barrels of oil a day (R136bn a year). If the US military were a country, they'd be the 38th largest consumer of oil. (RAW, Nov 15) 4,698 US soldiers deserted this year, an 80% increase since 2003 and the highest since 1980. (AP, Nov 16)
CANADA - Muslim lady security guard at Toronto Airport was fired for wearing a skirt longer than the knee-length uniform. She never had any problems doing this in the last 5 years. (City News, Nov 17)
WORLD - Estimates say global Halaal food industry is worth R14 trillion a year and growing at $500 billion annually. (Halal Journal, Oct 1, 2007)
KASHMIR - 6 Indian soldiers and 2 Mujahideen killed in gun battle in Avantipora. (BBC, Dec 5)
WORLD NEWS NOV 2007
IRAN - 180 Sufi Muslims were arrested after attacking a Shia mosque where a cleric labelled their practices illegitimate. A shootout in Boroujerd between the Sufis and police left 80 injured. (BBC, Nov 12)
SPAIN - 2 Spanish cartoonists were found guilty of offending the royal family and fined R30,000 each. The cartoon, in El Jueves magazine, depicted the Crown Prince and his wife having sex. The edition was pulled from newsstands by police. Trade unions say the judiciary is impeding freedom of speech. (BBC, Nov 13) And what of cartoons vilifying the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam?
USA - Wall Street banks revealed R345bn losses in the home loan sector after bondholders defaulted on payments. There were 1.7 million evictions this year, and 2 million families will lose their homes over the next 2 years. Total losses could be 2 trillion dollars and the bond wipe-out could cripple the US economy. In Detroit, 400,000 jobs were lost in 7 years. Cleveland is facing a rising crime wave as more people become unemployed, and the cost of demolishing vacant houses will cost the city R700m of its tax base. (BBC, Nov 5/13; Economist, Nov 17)
MALAYSIA - Malaysian carmaker Proton announced plans to develop an ‘Islamic car’, for Muslim motorists. Proton is to team up with manufacturers in Iran and Turkey to create a vehicle with features like a compass pointing to Makkah and a dedicated space to keep a Qur’an and headscarf. (BBC, Nov 11)
IRAQ - Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost the US R10.35 trillion, and cost the average US family of 4 about R145,000. Oil prices surged since the Iraq war, from $37 a barrel to more than $90 a barrel recently, denting the US economy. (BBC, Nov 13)
TURMENISTAN - Energy ministers and oil executives from around the world gathered for an oil and gas show as the country opens up to foreign investment. Western countries, China and Russia are vying for access to Turmenistan’s huge reserves of fossil fuels. (BBC, Nov 14)
SWITZERLAND - A gunman with a military assault rifle fired on Muslim worshippers at an Islamic centre in Lausanne, seriously injuring 1. (IOL, Nov 14)
ISRAEL - UN named Israel as one of the main destinations in the world for illegally trafficked women; it also consistently appeared as an offender in the US State Department's Trafficking in Persons report. From the 1990s 3,000 women a year were brought to Israel on false promise of jobs. They are sold into prostitution at auctions, where they are stripped, examined and sold for +-R70,000. Trafficked women are forced to work as prostitutes up to 18 hours a day. Some are locked up and deprived of food. (BBC, Nov 6)
AFGHANISTAN - US forces killed 15 civilians in the south, including women and 2 children, in bombing. (BBC, Nov 12) Distributor of a new translation of the Qur’aan in Dari language was arrested after religious scholars said it was un-Islamic as it misinterprets verses on alcohol, homosexuality and adultery. (BBC, Nov 4)
PAKISTAN - Former PM Bhutto joined with Islamic parties and former PM Nawaz Sharif in an alliance against Musharraf, who declared a state of emergency. Protests spread as thousands are arrested including Imran Khan, former cricket captain. (IOL, Nov 13; BBC, Nov 14)
UK - The head of M15, the secret service, says that 2,000 Muslims in the UK pose a threat to security for supporting ‘terrorism’. (BBC, Nov 5)
PALESTINE - A Palestinian under-19 football team was banned from playing in UK by officials. They were invited to play UK football clubs Chester City and Blackburn Rovers. The Jewish Israeli football team, meanwhile, was allowed to enter without any visas. (BBC, Aug 23)
UZBEKISTAN - Human Rights Watch said torture of Islamist ‘extremists’ in prisons is increasing including beatings with truncheons, electric shocks, sexual humiliation and threats of physical harm to relatives. There is also evidence that prisoners were boiled to death. (BBC, Nov 7)
BANGLADESH - 3,200 people dead in a cyclone, with over a million displaced. Tens of thousands of homes destroyed and in many areas 95% of rice awaiting harvest also destroyed, and shrimp farms and other crops washed away. (BBC, Nov 17)
CHINA - 5 Uighur Muslims from the country's far western region, Xinjiang, were sentenced to death for being ’militants belonging to a violent Islamic movement seeking independence.’ (AP, Nov 11)
WORLD NEWS OCT 2007
SOMALIA - 70 civilians killed and 200 wounded in Ethiopian bombing in Mogadishu after 21 Ethiopian soldiers were killed and some of their bodies dragged in the streets. 300 civilians killed and 400,000 displaced after Ethiopian invasion. 83,000 children are suffering malnutrition with swollen limbs. (IOL, Oct 18; BBC, Nov 9)
INDONESIA - Constitutional court blocked appeal to allow greater freedom for polygamy. Current laws allow men 4 wives with approval of a court only if existing wives are disabled, terminally ill, sexually inactive or infertile. First wife's consent is also required. (BBC, Oct 3)
MALDIVES - 10 arrested for bomb blast which injured 12. The Muslim country is tranquil and the capital has not witnessed gunfire or explosions since 1988. (BBC, Oct 1)
PHILIPPINES - 4 navy commandos killed in gun fight with Mujahideen on Lanhil island. 40 soldiers have been killed in the last 2 months. (BBC, Oct 2)
AFGHANISTAN - For years the most popular poet in USA is Muslim scholar Moulana Jalaluddin Rumi. Translations of his book Mathnawi are popular. Mathnawi uses stories to explain man’s link with Allah. Rumi was born in 1207 in Afghanistan. (BBC, Sep 30)
PAKISTAN - Mujahideen in Waziristan released 280 soldiers captured Aug for 28 Mujahideen. Govt launched operation in Swat valley against pro-Taleban Alim, Maulana Fazlullah. Mujahideen control the valley. (BBC, Oct 31)
PALESTINE - Palestinians living in extreme poverty. Unemployment is 90% in some villages says World Bank, due to Jewish boycott on Palestinians, locking them into a cage. 31% of households live in poverty in West Bank, 35% in deep poverty in Gaza says UN. (BBC, Oct 11)
KOSOVO - Muslims want full independence
but Serbia, supported by Russia, has refused. UN set Dec 10 as deadline for a resolution. (BBC, Oct 14)
TURKEY - Deterioration in relationship with US after US criticised Turkish plans to raid Kurdish rebel area in Iraq. Ties also strained by US congress vote branding killing of Armenians 1915-17 as genocide by Turks. (BBC, Oct 13) 13 Turkish soldiers killed by Kurd rebels. (BBC, Oct 7)
MALAYSIA - First Malaysian astronaut in space, Sheikh Muszaphar, spent Eid there. He is the 8th Muslim in space. (BBC, Oct 12)
ISRAEL - Hundreds of Jewish teenagers from Europe and USA go every year to Israel for an 8-week course run by Israeli Defense Force. Marva program est. 1981 allows participants, who must be Jewish between 18 and 28, to fire weapons and live in military barracks in the Negev desert. Young Palestinians learning the basics of military life are called terrorists. (Truthdig.com, Oct 1)
TANZANIA - Ulama warned against eating at US and UK embassies at Iftaar functions, as they cause suffering to Muslims in the world. (BBC, Oct 11)
COMOROS - AU sanctions on Anjouan island to resolve a deadlock between the island and Comoros. Comoros is 99% Muslim. (allAfrica.com, Oct 12)
AFRICA - 400 dead and 2 million affected in Africa’s worst flooding for 30 years in July. Catastrophic rains hit half of all African countries, some Muslim, with 113 dead in Sudan. (BBC, Oct 17)
SAUDI ARABIA - One of the world’s most expensive homes is the Aspen ski lodge of Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan which lists for R945 million. (Forbes.com, Oct 18)
USA - Bush invited 90 Muslims to the White House for 7th annual iftaar dinner, which included roasted kabocha squash soup and spiced rack of lamb. (AP, Oct 4)
MALDIVES - New laws to curb ‘Islamic militancy’ stop foreign Ulama entering and women are outlawed from being covered from head-to-toe (Hijab). (BBC, Oct 18)
PAKISTAN - 130 killed in attack on ex-PM Bhutto in Karachi. (BBC, Oct 19) 1,800, including lawyers, arrested after Musharraf declared state of emergency. (AP Nov 6)
IRAN - 12 people executed for murder and rape. 210 executed so far this year. (BBC, Oct 18)
USA - 1,800 homes burnt, 640,000 people fled, 14 dead, 2,072 sq km of land burnt, over $1 billion damage and toxic air after wildfires in California. (BBC, Oct 31)
VATICAN - King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia visited for the meeting by the Pope with a Saudi king. (BBC, Nov 6)
NIGERIA - Islamic authorities in Kano banned film-making after a Muslim actress appeared on a video clip of having sex. (BBC, Oct 3)
MOROCCO - Morocco recalled its ambassador to Spain after the Spanish king visited Ceuta and Melilla, 2 Spanish colonies in Morocco. Morocco criticised the visits calling it a continuation of colonialism. (BBC, Nov 6)
USA - Republican politician Peter King said ‘we have too many mosques in’ USA. In 2004 he said 85% of American Muslim community leaders are ‘an enemy living amongst us’. (M&G, Sep 20)
EGYPT - Deaf Muslims can now understand Khutbas (sermons) on Friday due to a project to translate them into sign language in a few Musjids. An interpreter stands in front next to the mimbar. (IOL, Nov 2)
World News July 2007
AFGHANISTAN - Taleban radio station, Voice of Shariat, has begun broadcasting again. It can be heard in 4 south-eastern provinces. (BBC, Jun 21)
INDONESIA - 8,400 villagers have been moved to camps away from the Mount Gamkonora volcano which started spewing out hot ash and smoke. (BBC, Jul 10)
PHILIPPINES - Mujahideen killed 14 marines and wounded 9 in a battle on Basilan island. 4 Mujahideen were killed. Abu Sayyaf and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front are seeking an independent Islamic state in the south. (BBC, Jul 11)
LIBYA - Supreme Court upheld death sentences imposed in 2004 on 5 Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor for infecting children with HIV. 56 of the 438 children infected with tainted blood have since died. A mediating body agreed a financial settlement with the children's families. (BBC, Jul 11)
ALGERIA - A suicide bomber targeted a military barracks killing nine soldiers ahead of the opening of the All-Africa Games. Mujahideen have been fighting since 1992 when the military cancelled elections which Islamists won. (BBC, Jul 11)
YEMEN - 367 people have died and 118 are missing after trying to reach Yemen from the Horn of Africa so far this year, says UN refugee agency. 8,600 smuggled people have arrived in Yemen this year - a 30% fall since 2006. People are fleeing mostly from Somalia or Ethiopia. (BBC, Jul 10)
LEBANON - 80 soldiers and 60 Mujahideen have died in 7 weeks of fighting in Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp. 40 civilians have also been killed. Islamic group Fatah al-Islam is battling govt soldiers. 30,000 Palestinians lived in the camp. (BBC, Jul 11)
UK - Salman Rushdie whose book The Satanic Verses insulted the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam and sparked protests by Muslims around the world in 1989, was knighted by the Queen in a further insult to Islam. Muslims protested the knighthood in many countries. (BBC, Jul 10)
INGUSHETIA - A series of attacks by 200 Mujahideen was the biggest operation in Muslim Ingushetia since fighting broke out between Mujahideen and Russia in neighbouring Chechnya a decade ago. Attacks targeted police and border posts near Nazran Jul 9. 92 Russian soldiers were killed and 60 wounded. 2 Mujahideen died. Russian-backed Chechen Pres Kadyrov was killed last month in a bomb attack. (BBC, Jul 11)
SOMALIA - Police arrested many people from a Musjid in Mogadishu while they were reading salaah. Islamists and the Hawiye clan are opposed to Ethiopian troops in Somalia and are carrying out attacks regularly. (BBC, Jul 10)
INDONESIA - 2 children died and dozens of passengers missing after a boat disappeared travelling from Buru to Ambon. Its engine failed in rough seas. Many use sea transport to move between islands. (BBC, Jul 11)
PAKISTAN - The army stormed the Red (Laal) Musjid compound in Islamabad after 2 days of fighting. 50 students, male and female, died and 10 soldiers when commandos stormed the complex. Many more students were killed during the week-long siege. 70 students were arrested as ‘militants’. One of the Musjid’s leading Ulama, Moulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi, whose father was murdered by govt, was also killed. Male and female students at the Musjid and its attached religious schools had waged a campaign for months calling for Islamic law. They shut down brothels and campaigned for Musjids to be rebuilt which Musharraf ordered broken. (BBC, Jul 11)
CHECHNYA - 10 Russian soldiers killed and more than 17 wounded in Mujahideen operations in several parts of Chechnya. (KavkazCenter, Jul 10)
MALAYSIA - The Islamic Fiqh Academy conference of Ulama from around the world took place in Malaysia. (IOL, Jul 10)
EGYPT - April 17, the first 7 Muslim-owned satellites went into orbit. They were launched from Kazakhstan. 2 are remote sensing micro-satellites used to photograph Earth, and the other 5 are communication satellites. 1 satellite is Egyptian-owned while 6 are Saudi-owned. (IOL, Apr 19)
World News August 2007
MALAYSIA - Conservationists want to save one of the world's most endangered sea creatures, the leatherback turtle. There are less than 5,000 left. Terengganu in the east was once had the world's largest leatherback nesting sites. (BBC, Jul 17)
NIGERIA - Security forces demolished the headquarters of a Shia sect which killed a Sunni Muslim cleric. Police arrested the leader of the Shia sect and 100 of his followers. (BBC, Aug 1)
TURKEY - Elections were won by the ruling Islamic-based AK Party. Opposition and army accuse AKP of threatening the secular system. (BBC, Jul 22)
SPAIN - High Court ordered seizure of all copies of a magazine with a cartoon of Crown Prince Felipe and his wife having sex, saying the cartoon insulted the royal family. Defaming the royal family carries a 2-year prison term. (BBC, Jul 20) The West allows cartoons defaming the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam while banning cartoons ridiculing their leaders.
INDONESIA - Saudi Arabia is considering banning Indonesian airlines after 2 air disasters in Indonesia this year. Half a million Indonesians travel to Saudi Arabia every year for work or Hajj. (BBC, Jul 17)
KAZAKHSTAN - A closed trial of 30 alleged Islamist ‘radicals’ began. In this Muslim region prisons are full of people accused of being Islamic radicals. (BBC, Aug 1)
PALESTINE - Bookstores opened on Saturday, Jewish holy day, to sell the final Harry Potter book. Israeli law forbids businesses from opening on Saturday. The Trade Minister threatened to fine any store that opens. (BBC, Jul 19) Taleban was accused of state religious fundamentalism, while many Israeli state laws are religiously fundamental.
USA - Federal court ordered govt to turn over all information on Guantánamo detainees, rejecting an effort by Justice Department to limit disclosures and challenging Bush’s holding the men indefinitely. As in an authoritarian state, Pentagon can limit subjects that lawyers can discuss with detainees. Human Rights groups say there’s years of evidence that torture was authorised at the highest levels and used by US forces. (BBC, Jul 20)
PAKISTAN - More than 100 children died in the army raid on the Red Mosque. 20 soldiers died. (BBC, Jul 19) Thousands of polo enthusiasts gathered in the mountains for festivities at the highest ground in the world. For 3 days, hundreds of tents mushroom around the field. (BBC, Jul 18) 30 people killed in storms in north. Several homes destroyed as heavy rains hit Dir. (BBC, Jul 20)
AFGHANISTAN - Taleban killed 3 foreign missionaries. 18 others are hostage. (BBC, Jul 21)
DUBAI - An unfinished skyscraper, Burj Dubai, is the world's tallest building. It will be 693m tall with 160 floors. (BBC, Jul 23) Dubailand, a cluster of mega-billion-dollar projects, will have hotels, golf courses, malls and cover 3 billion square feet. Dubai already has the sail-shaped Burj Al-Arab hotel, built 3 palm-tree shaped islands, and paid 100-million-dollar for Queen Elizabeth 2, the majestic cruise liner, to use as a floating hotel. The 24-project venture will cost 235 billion dollars. This does not include other projects like Bawadi, the world's largest hospitality development with 50 hotels and 60,000 rooms. AsiaAsia will be the world's largest hotel with 6,500 rooms, and the Mall of Arabia the world's largest mall. (AFP, Jun 19)
UK - Floods in central and western England left thousands 350,000 without water. 40,000 homes lost electricity. (BBC, Jul 23)
LEBANON - Army continued shelling Mujahideen in a Palestinian refugee camp. 110 soldiers were killed in fighting with Fatal al-Islam in the last 2 months. Much of the camp has been reduced to rubble by army shelling. 70 Mujahideen and dozens of civilians have been killed. (BBC, Jul 19)
KOSOVO - PM Agim Ceku said Muslim Kosovo will declare unilateral independence from Serbia after the West failed to help. Kosovo suffered ethnic cleansing by Serbs. (IOL, Jul 20)
OGADEN - Ethiopian forces imposed a food aid blockade in Somali Muslim Ogaden and burned down villages. Ogaden has fought for independence since the early 1990s. (BBC, Aug 2)
BANGLADESH - 30% of the country is flooded with 40 people killed and 5 million affected by floods caused by monsoon rains. (BBC, Aug 2)
SOMALIA - 8 killed in battles between Mujahideen and govt and Ethiopian forces after Mujahideen attacked an army base. (BBC, Aug 2)
WORLD NEWS JUNE 2007
TURKEY - Turkey bombed Kurdish areas in north Iraq. Kurdish rebels have increased terror attacks recently. In Apr, a suicide bomb in Ankara killed 8 civilians. (BBC, Jun 9)
OMAN - 32 killed in Cyclone Gonu. The storm was the strongest to hit the Gulf for decades, damaging buildings and trees in the capital and leaving roads flooded. Electricity and water were cut. (BBC, Jun 8)
SAUDI ARABIA - Prince Bandar who negotiated a £40bn (R520bn) arms deal with UK got secret payments for a decade. UK's biggest arms dealer, BAE Systems, paid hundreds of millions of pounds to secure the deal for 100 warplanes which kept UK’s arms industry alive. (BBC, Jun 7)
SOMALIA - Somalia's first pres, Aden Abdulle Osman, died aged 99 in Kenya. He was the first African leader to voluntarily quit his post after he lost the 1967 election. (BBC, Jun 8)
PAKISTAN - Sheikh Sudais, imam of Haram in Makkah, is mediating between the Pakistan govt and 2 Darul Ulooms: Jamia Faridia and Jamia Hafsa. They want Islamic law in Pakistan and defied Musharraf recently. Sudais met Musaharraf also. (IOL, Jun 7)
PHILIPPINES - In a landmark meeting army commanders met 20 leaders of Muslim fighters seeking independence of the Muslim-majority region since the 1960’s. They discussed stabilizing a ceasefire agreement of Jul 2003. (IOL, Jun 9)
LEBANON - An army siege and bombing of a Palestinian refugee camp entered its 4th week. 3 Lebanese soldiers were killed Jun 9. (IOL, Jun 9)
PALESTINE - A Muslim graveyard in the West Bank was desecrated by Jewish worshippers. Anti-Arab slogans were sprayed on headstones and many were smashed. (Haaretz, Jun 8)
SA - 1. Moulana Qasim Sema, founder and principal of SA’s first Darul Uloom, passed away Jun 9. 2. Mufti Taqi Usmani, renowned scholar from Pakistan, visited PE. 3. 2nd International Halaal Conference for Africa to be held July 16 at Gallagher Estate. World experts will deliver papers. (News sources)
PALESTINE - Attacks on Muslim civilians are publicly called for: Israel's former Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu ruled there was no prohibition against indiscriminate killing of civilians in a military offensive on Gaza. He said in Jewish war ethics, all are responsible because they don’t stop Hamas rockets. (Jerusalem Post, May 30)
USA - A Saudi apparently committed suicide at Guantanamo in isolation in maximum-security. It’s the 4th since the concentration camp opened. Wells Dixon, US defence lawyer, said it’s hell on earth. After more than 5 years without charges, captives are desperate. (Independent, Jun 1)
PALESTINE - A UN map based on field monitoring and satellite images shows that Jewish infrastructure has made 40% of West Bank off-limits to Palestinians. The rest is isolated Palestinian spots. Movement between them is restricted by 450 roadblocks and 70 checkpoints. (Financial Times, Jun 4)
LIBYA - Oil giant BP struck a $900m deal to return to Libya after more than 30 years. (BBC, May 30)
UK - University and college academics back a boycott of Israeli academic institutions. (BBC, May 29)
MALAYSIA - The highest court rejected that a Muslim apostate be legally recognised as a Christian. Muslims can’t renounce Islam. (BBC, May 30)
AFGHANISTAN - Taleban shot down a Nato helicopter killing 7 UK and US soldiers. It is the 7th aircraft shot down since Apr 2005 with a total of 63 soldiers killed. (BBC, May 31)
IRAQ - 10 US soldiers killed May 28: 2 in a helicopter shot down and 8 in bombs totalling 112 US soldiers killed in May, bloodiest month this year. 3,500 US troops killed since the invasion. (BBC, May 29)
NIGERIA - Umaru Yar'Adua, a Muslim, won elections to become the new Pres. (BBC, May 29)
UK - The name Muhammad is set to be the most popular name in UK by year-end. (SAFM, Jun 6)
SAUDI ARABIA - General Electric is to sell its plastics arm to Saudi Basic Industries Corp, one of the world's largest petrochemical firms, for $11.6bn (R81.2bn). (BBC, May 21)
MAURITIUS - Hundreds of Muslims demonstrated after the Supreme Court forbade a Masjid in Quatre-Bornes from broadcasting azaan on outside speakers. (PANA, Apr 11)
WORLD NEWS MAY 2007
ALGERIA - Samir Saioud, number-two of the Islamic Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat killed in fighting in Si Mustapha. (BBC, Apr 26)
MOROCCO - Govt and independence group for Western Sahara, Polisario Front, agreed to talks. They’ve been fighting for 32 years. (BBC, Apr 30)
INDONESIA - Civilian police patrol areas like Tangerang looking for alcohol or prostitutes. Many districts now have Islamic-style laws. (BBC, May 11)
TURKEY - Top court annulled parliamentary vote for Abdullah Gul, ruling Islamist party’s candidate for Pres, accusing him of an Islamist agenda. His wife, as well as that of the PM, wear scarves, hated by secularists and the army. (BBC, May 3)
AFGHANISTAN - 50 civilians killed 1st week May by US. Hundreds of families fled the area and 100 houses destroyed. 4,000 killed in 2006, many civilians. Taleban's top commander Mullah Dadullah killed in fighting with NATO. (BBC, May 2, 13)
SOMALIA - 1,400 people, mainly civilians, died in weeks of Mogadishu fighting between Mujahideen and Ethiopian troops. 400,000 fled since Feb. An EU official accused Ethiopia of war crimes. Soldiers ordered women to remove face veils and burnt them. (IOL, May 3; BBC, May 9)
MALAYSIA - 13th king, Sultan Zainal Abidin, enthroned. Under a rotational monarchy, heads of 9 states occupy the throne for 5 years. (BBC, Apr 26)
PALESTINE - 27 killed in Jewish airstrikes. 50 killed in clashes between Hamas and Fatah. (IOL, May 21)
KASHMIR - Hundreds marched to protest the demolition of a Musjid in a 16th century fort occupied by Indian forces for 17 years. (BBC, Apr 27)
USA - Somali Muslim cabdrivers at a Minnesota airport lost their legal battle after refusing to transport passengers with alcohol or dogs. They face penalties if they refuse. (IOL, Apr 19)
UK - Muslim women will be legally allowed to wear Niqab, or full-face veil, in courts. (IOL, Apr 25)
FRANCE - Graves of 59 Muslim WWI soldiers painted with Nazi swastikas. In World War 1, France mobilized 600,000 colonial subjects, including many Muslims from Algeria and Tunisia, of whom 78,000 died in the war. (IOL, Apr 21)
MOROCCO - Missionaries Christianizing lyrics of folk songs to convert Muslims. (IOL, Apr 23)
UK - Secret service MI5 is testing surveillance cameras in Muslim-dominated areas. The cameras have lenses linked to software that can indicate 50 behaviour patterns to identify a ‘potential terrorist’. It then tracks a suspect in and out of buildings and as he drives away. (IOL, Apr 22)
UK - Muslims in Clitheroe got permission to turn a former chapel into a Musjid after a 30-year struggle. There are 1,600 Musjids in UK, while 1700 Church of England churches closed since 1969. (IOL, Apr 29)
DENMARK - A Muslim woman announced she’d run for Parliament. She wears a scarf and was criticized by right-wing MPs. 3 MPs were reported to police for comparing Hijab to Nazi swastikas. (IOL, Apr 22,29)
USA - Head of US Agency for International Aid resigned over a sex scandal in the latest scandal jolting the Bush govt. World Bank pres Wolfowitz, former deputy defense secretary and architect of the Iraq war, resigned over a hefty pay raise to his girlfriend, a bank employee. (IOL, Apr 28)
PAKISTAN - Culture ministry banned the play Burqavaganza. It contains immoral scenes and remarks against the Burqa (veil). (IOL, Apr 28)
NIGERIA - Islamic police (Hisbah) demolished 4 theatres in Kano to stamp out immorality after a lesbian ‘marriage’ in one. (BBC, May 11)
PHILIPPINES - 4 children aged 4-9 of a wanted Indonesian Muslim ‘militant’ of Jemaah Islamiah were arrested. (BBC, May 11)
INDIA - 7 killed in bomb attack on Makkah Musjid in Hyderabad during Juma. (BBC, May 18)
LEBANON - Troops pounded Palestinian refugee
camp where, Fatah Islam, group ‘linked’ to al-Qaida is holed up. 40 dead in fighting. (IOL, May 21)
IRAQ - 8 US soldiers killed May 20. May could be one of the deadliest months since Mar 2003, with 76 soldiers killed already. (BBC, May 20)
News You Can Use
IRAQ - US helicopter shot down in Latifiya. 4 US and 4 UK troops killed Apr 5. (BBC, Apr 5)
CHECHNYA - Ramzan Kadyrov was sworn in as pro-Russian president of Chechnya. He rules by fear, using a private militia to kidnap, torture and kill Chechens. (BBC, Apr 5)
INDONESIA - Editor of porn Playboy magazine was acquitted of publishing indecent material. Protesters who forced the publishers to Bali said the verdict was a bitter pill. (BBC, Apr 5)
GUANTANAMO - Conditions for detainees are deteriorating, with majority in solitary confinement, Amnesty International says. Inhumane conditions are making people insane and detainees are confined to windowless cells for 22 hours a day, only allowed to exercise at night and go for days without seeing daylight. (BBC, Apr 4)
COLOMBIA - International arrest warrants were issued for 3 Israeli Jews wanted for training fighters for drug-traffickers' private armies. (BBC, Apr 4)
ETHIOPIA - Ethiopia admits holding 41 Muslim ‘terror’ suspects from 17 countries arrested in Somalia, in secret prisons for interrogation by the FBI. Among the captured were 23 women and children. Mujahideen in Ogaden, a Muslim Somali area captured by Ethiopia, attacked an oil field in Abole killing 74 in a battle. (BBC, Apr 11, 25)
PAKISTAN - Hundreds of Taleban attacked security forces in Tank, near Afghanistan. (BBC, Mar 28)
KASHMIR - Gulmarg in Indian-occupied Kashmir is turning into a paradise for extreme skiers. It’s at a height of 4,267m overlooking Himalayan mountains. These are probably the best and most dangerous skiing conditions in the world. (BBC, Mar 21
HEALTH - World Health Organization and UNAIDS said male circumcision should be used to reduce the spread of HIV. Trials show that circumcision halved the rate of HIV infection in heterosexual men, but not in gay men. (BBC, Mar 28)
KOSOVO - UN envoy for Muslim Kosovo says independence is the only option for the territory, in a report to the Security Council. Russia backs Serbia to hold on to Kosovo. (BBC, Mar 27)
MALAYSIA - Govt blasted BBC presenter who ridiculed a Malaysian-made car in magazine articles and on the Top Gear motor show. He was filmed attacking the Perodua Kelisa car with a sledgehammer before blowing it up. He said its name was like a disease and it was built in jungles by people who wear leaves for shoes. (BBC Mar 28)
ALGERIA - 17 killed after 2 blasts rocked the capital, one near the PM’s office. (BBC, Apri 11)
SYRIA - Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi became the most senior US politician to visit in 2 years. She met Pres Basheer. Bush, a Republican who is engaged in a struggle with Democrat-dominated congress, condemned her visit. (Al Jazeera, Apr 4)
QATAR - Foreign minister Sheikh Hamad was named PM. In 2005, he met Israel's foreign minister, the first public encounter between a Gulf diplomat and Israel. Qatar, a US ally, also keeps close ties with Hamas, allowing its leaders to have homes there. (Al Jazeera, Apr 3)
BAHRAIN - Plans are in place to set up Islamic mega-bank named Emaar. It will have an initial capital of R7bn reaching a capital of R700bn in 7 years. The Islamic finance industry has up to R2800bn in assets. (Al Jazeera, Mar 28)
INDONESIA - Christians in Papua province have been fighting against govt for decades with attacks on economic and military targets. (BBC, Feb 21)
NEW ZEALAND - Churches are to hold a conference to discuss the ‘threat’ of Islam. (busrep)
THAILAND - A grenade thrown in a mosque in the south injured 14 people at Fajr time. (BBC, Apr 5)
EGYPT - Amnesty says Egypt has become a centre for interrogation and torture on behalf of other states in the ‘war on terror’. (BBC, Apr 11)
IRAQ - Red Cross says the situation for ordinary Iraqis is getting steadily worse. (Apr 11)
TURKEY - The army and secularists told PM Erdogan not to stand for President as his party has Islamist roots. (BBC, Apr 24)
World News March 2007
SOMALIA - Hundreds killed as Mujahideen battled Ethiopian forces for 5 days. African Union troops and the port have also been attacked. (BBC, Mar 22)
NIGERIA - Most candidates fighting presidential elections in Apr are Muslim. Frontrunner is Umaru Yar'Adua, governor of a Muslim state. (BBC, Mar 7)
CYPRUS - Greeks demolished part of a barrier dividing Greeks and Muslim Turks since 1974 in the capital. Turkey rules north Cyprus. Greeks rejected a UN plan to unify the island in 2004. (BBC, Mar 9)
BORNEO - Clouded leopards on Sumatra and Borneo are a new species of animal. 3 Muslim countries have territory on Borneo - Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. (BBC, Mar 15)
PALESTINE - Israel rejected a Saudi peace plan which calls for Israeli withdrawal from land seized in 1967 in return for peace with Arab states. Jews stall any plan which will establish a Palestinian state. (BBC, Mar 13)
IRAN - US war on Iran enters a new arena with the Hollywood movie 300, which gives the impression that Iran was for centuries the source of evil, and ancient Iranians were dumb savages. Iran captured 15 UK marines in Iranian water. They were later released. (BBC, Mar 13, Apr 6)
EGYPT - Police arrested Muslim Brotherhood (MB) members. MB wants an Islamic state. (BBC, Mar 13)
USA - 14 Muslims transferred from secret CIA prisons to Guantanamo are undergoing closed trials, criticised by human rights groups. Amnesty called for them to be boycotted. (BBC, Mar 22)
DENMARK - A company, Fighters & Lovers, was charged with terrorism for selling T-shirts inspired by freedom fighters. They were to donate proceeds to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine to finance a graphics studio in Palestine. (BBC, Mar 15)
IRAQ - 11 detainees escaped from a UK prison in Basra. They were held for 2 years without charge. Thousands of Iraqis are held in US/UK prisons in Iraq on no charge. (BBC, Mar 16)
PALESTINE - Unity govt formed by Hamas and Fatah, with Norway first to recognise it. Israel and USA refuse to recognise the right of Palestine to exist. A Jenin lady invented gel socks to help Palestinians, especially pregnant and elderly, suffering from swollen feet waiting at Jewish checkpoints in West Bank. (BBC, Mar 16,19)
PAKISTAN - Police arrested hundreds including leader of the Islamic coalition, after Chief Justice Chaudhry was suspended by Musharraf. In Islamabad, govt gave in to 3,000 Hijab-clad girls who refused to leave a religious school Musharraf wanted demolished. The girls also raided a brothel and kidnapped the lady in charge. (BBC Mar 16)
TAJIKISTAN - Govt is interfering in the centuries-old system of Madressas to stop the rise of Islam. In neighboring Uzbekistan torture of Islamists is widespread. (IOL, Mar 11)
TUNISIA - Islamists and secularists issued a joint statement that hijab is an inalienable right. Hijab is banned in state institutions. (IOL, Mar 11)
LATIN AMERICA - Bush's tour of Latin America was met with protests and marches. Venezuela Pres Chavez is also on tour and launched stinging verbal attacks on the US. (BBC, Mar 12)
SAUDI ARABIA - Captive-bred mountain gazelles were successfully released into the wild for the first time in 10 years. (BBC, Mar 7)
CHINA - Ismail Semed, an Uighur from Xinjiang, a Muslim province, was executed. He founded the East Turkestan Islamic Movement. In 1997 he fled to Pakistan but was deported in 2003. (BBC, Feb 23)
INDIA - Police seized a 400-year-old Qur’aan, written by pious Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. It has 1000 pages, each with a unique fragrance. Gold and silver were mixed with ink. (The Hindu)
USA - CIA is holding the 9 and 7-year-old sons of alleged 9/11 mastermind. They are being interrogated in USA. (Telegraph, Mar 9)
MALDIVES - A R70 million party of a UK tycoon which had topless dancers, celebrities, alcohol and a Bhudda statue was condemned by the Democratic Party in this Muslim country. (BBC, Mar 21)
NIGERIA - Muslim high school pupils in Gombe allegedly killed a Christian teacher who desecrated the Qur’aan. (BBC, Mar 20)
