Rights groups: Some U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen may be war crimes
By Jethro Mullen, CNN updated 6:35 AM EDT, Tue October 22, 2013 (CNN) — The villagers had congregated at the tent, as they often did at the end of the workday, to […]
Scientists More Trustworthy Than Church Leaders, Survey Finds
Huff Post: Who would you trust more, a scientist or a member of the church? Most people see scientists as the most honest of all professionals, a survey has revealed, […]
Why can’t a state be based upon the “real Islam”?
el-baghdadi.com: A common comment I hear from Muslims is that a government based upon “real Islam” will be a just and prosperous government. While as a Muslim I do believe that Islam enjoins justice & liberty, and that Islam has something to say beyond the private realm, the main issue here […]
Why can't a state be based upon the "real Islam"?
el-baghdadi.com: A common comment I hear from Muslims is that a government based upon “real Islam” will be a just and prosperous government. While as a Muslim I do believe that Islam enjoins justice & liberty, and that Islam has something to say beyond the private realm, the main issue here […]
Australia braces for worst of wildfires
Source: CNN Blue Mountains, Australia (CNN) — A swath of wildfires nearly 1,000 miles long coursed through the most populous state in Australia Tuesday, and firefighters fear the worse is yet to come. “If our strategies don’t work and weather materializes tomorrow that is forecast … it could be absolutely devastating,” […]
Amnesty International says US could be guilty of war crimes over use of drones
Telegraph: Human rights campaigners will today demand that American officials be held responsible for illegal killings carried out by drones and call for greater transparency over its secret programme. A new report by Amnesty International details how civilians have been killed in Pakistan – including a 68-year-old grandmother who died […]
Some U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen may be war crimes
Source: CNN: Based on extensive field research, the reports both underlined the difficulties of gathering information on attacks in dangerous areas of Pakistan and Yemen. And they both noted the U.S. government’s unwillingness to talk about the cases. The lack of information from U.S. authorities, Amnesty said, makes it impossible […]
Targeting of Ahmadis continues in Pakistan
indexoncensorship.org: As the Muslim festival of Eid ul Adha drew to a close last week, it left a bad taste in the mouth of several Pakistanis when they heard that those belonging to the Ahmadi community were stopped from performing the ritual of animal sacrifice because they are “non-Muslims”. According to […]
“Strong evidence” Pakistan military approved US drone strikes: UN report
Source: Dawn.Com A recently released UN report suggests there is “strong evidence” that top Pakistani military and intelligence officials approved US drone strikes on Pakistani soil during 2004 and 2008. The study says in some cases, even “senior government figures” gave their approval to the strikes in the country’s militancy-hit […]
Strengthening the state
Source: ET In a situation where we see what amounts to a breakdown of the rule of law, any attempt to strengthen the writ of the state is to be welcomed. The declaration on October 20, by the federal government of all peace-disrupting elements as ‘enemies’ of the state, and the […]
Syrian troops kill prominent army defector
Story Summary A senior rebel commander in southern Syria was killed in fighting with government troops in the town of Tafas on Monday, sources on both sides said. An activist on the ground said Abu Ammar was “one of the most effective commanders on the ground, and one of the […]
Kung fu instructors ‘Martial arts brought us together’
by Dahai Shao, swissinfo.ch October 20, 2013 – 11:00 Jumping across rooftops or chopping bricks in half – that’s cinema. But real-life kung fu, as the West refers to Chinese martial arts (it’s “wushu” in China), is so much more than that, as I discovered when I visited a martial […]
‘KSA hospitals surpass some world-class ones’
The Kingdom has won accolades from the World Health Organization for the medical services it provided to pilgrims during the Haj season. Ezz Al-Din Al-Muhsini, WHO coordinator of elimination and eradication of infectious diseases, and coordinator of the eradication of polio, said: “The well-equipped hospitals designated to serve Haj pilgrims […]
3 divorce cases are recorded every hour in KSA, finds study
Divorce cases in Saudi Arabia increased to more than 30,000 in 2012, with a rate of 82 a day translated to almost three divorce cases every hour, found a study prepared by the economic research unit at Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper. According to the study, divorce rates in the Kingdom are 2.5 […]
A Worldwide Fight Against Street Harassment
The NewYork Times: by Joe Sharkey – Female friends and I began having conversations with male friends who were shocked to hear our stories. One guy looked at me and said, ‘You live in a different New York City than I do.’ And I was like, ‘What’s up with that? […]
Former anti-Islam film producer turned Muslim made pilgrim to Hajj
Albawaba: A Dutch politician, Arnoud Van Doorn, who was once a harsh critic of Islam and had taken part in the production of a highly controversial anti-Islam film (Fitna) , […]
The two Muslim narratives
JewishJournal.com: by Qasim Rashid – The Muslim world finds itself amidst a battle of two narratives — one of oppression and one of justice. The oppressive narrative enforces death for […]
How Islam has Influenced the Christian understanding of God
Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD, Chief Editor of the Muslim Times When Baylor University researchers asked their 1700 participants about what they think God looks like, 60 percent drew abstract […]
Proportion of Muslims in Russia fast-growing: commentary
October 21, 2013 – 14:44 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net – Not only do ethnic Muslims account for 21 million to 23 million of Russia’s total population of 144 million, or 15 percent, but their proportion is fast-growing, Daniel Pipes, American historian, writer, and political commentator, as well as president of the Middle […]
Thomas Paine’s Quote about Titles
In the Rights of Man, Thomas Paine presents an impassioned defense of the Enlightenment principles of freedom and equality that he believed would soon sweep the “arbitrary authority” of monarchy […]