Islamic State to Mint Gold Coins
By Erik Holm and Siobhan Gorman The Islamic State is getting into the gold-coin business. The “Treasury Department” of the jihadist group that is now occupying large portions of Syria […]
Archaeologists dig at ancient site next door to Islamic State
By Mohammed Rasool and Deb Riechmann The Associated Press GAZIANTEP, Turkey —Archaeology and war don’t usually mix, yet that has been the case for years at Karkemish, an ancient city […]
Ahmadiyya question: Setting Niazi free
Dawn: Former Minister of Religious Affairs in the Z.A. Bhutto government (1971-77), Kausar Niazi, has been mistreated by history. by Nadeem F. Paracha Many local historians have charged him for influencing some of the Bhutto government’s many controversial policies, especially the one that supposedly ‘resolved the long standing Ahmadiyya question’. […]
Makkah beauty pageant thwarted
Authorities in Makkah have thwarted plans for a beauty pageant in the holy city, citing the Shariah law that prohibits such a show as reason for the decision. The pageant, […]
Qur’an lesson for today: 292. Commandment to give full measure and full weight, and diminish not unto people their things
292. Commandment to give full measure and full weight, and diminish not unto people their things [7:86] And to Midian We sent their brother Shu‘aib. He said, ‘O my people, worship Allah; you have no other deity but Him. A clear Sign has indeed come to you from your Lord. So […]
Qur’an lesson for today: 294. Commandment – do not cut off the highway for travelers (for theft and robbery)
294. Commandment – do not cut off the highway for travellers (for theft and robbery) [29:30] ‘Do you indeed come lustfully to men and cut off the highway for travellers? And you commit abomination in your meetings!’ But the only answer of his people was that they said, ‘Bring upon us the punishment […]
Qur’an lesson for today: 293. Commandment – if an unrighteous person brings you any news, ascertain the correctness of the report fully
293. Commandment – if an unrighteous person brings you any news, ascertain the correctness of the report fully [49:7] O ye who believe! if an unrighteous person brings you any news, ascertain the correctness of the report fully, lest you harm a people in ignorance, and then become repentant for what you have […]
Pakistan born kid becomes world’s youngest Microsoft IT specialist
Dawn: ISLAMABAD – Pakistani-Briton Ayan Qureshi, who has only just started going to primary school, successfully completed the assessment to become the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional on the planet. A five-year-old kid broke the previous record of six and a half by passing the exam at the age of five […]
Punish Pakistan for its un-Islamic blasphemy laws
Barbarity of burning a Christian couple alive in Pakistan is worse than the beheadings by the Islamic State. Haroon Siddiqui, Thestar.com 2014/11/12 ASIF HASSAN / AFP/GETTY IMAGES Pakistani minority Christians protest the murder of a Christian couple who were killed for alleged blasphemy in a small village in the province […]
Burma ‘backsliding’ on some reforms, Obama says before visit
theguardian — US president cites persecution of ethnic Rohingya Muslim minority and crackdown on journalists in assessment published as he is set to visit the country Burma policemen holding shields line up as they stand guard in front of the old ministers’ office in Yangon before Barack Obama’s visit Burma’s […]
Uzbekistan students stage rare protest against forced labour in cotton fields
theguardian: by Joanna Lillis — Around a million Uzbeks are forced to help harvest the country’s ‘white gold’ every year. Now, students have tentatively begun to speak out against it.EurasiaNet.org reports Public servants are drafted in every year to help harvest the country’s crucial cotton crops. Uzbekistan’s practice of sending forced […]
King meets Kerry, Netanyahu for talks on Jerusalem tension
AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday hosted a trilateral meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cool tempers arising as […]
Disunity and distress
The Daily Star Ten years after the death of Yasser Arafat, and the situation for Palestinians is at its direst in years, and any hope of unity between different factions […]
War with Isis: The forgotten, plucky Kurds under siege in their enclave on Syria’s border with Turkey
Robert Fisk visits Rumeilan, where its people strive to extract oil, produce asphalt and continue the struggle against the Islamist militants The skies are grey-black from the oilfields and refineries […]
Policy Brief: Reimagining Human Rights in Pakistan
<!–0–> Jinnah Institute Source By Asad Jamal A rising graph of extremism in Pakistan has triggered alarm on the plummeting standards of human rights protections and entitlements across the country. The recent burning of a Christian couple by a 1,500 strong mob on the outskirts of Lahore underscores the gravity […]
Iran: New Law Proposes 74 Lashes for Dog Owners
New Iranian Law Proposes 74 Lashes for Dog Owners A new law proposed in Iran would make walking, owning or selling a dog a crime punishable by 74 lashes and a fine of $370 to $3,700. Sun, November 9, 2014 Clarion Project An Iranian woman stands in front of a […]
Freud and the Middle East
NOV. 11, 2014 Thomas L. Friedman ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — When trying to make sense of the Middle East, one of the most important rules to keep in mind is this: What politicians here tell you in private is usually irrelevant. What matters most, and what explains their […]
Russian Christians Urge President Of Pakistan To Pardon Asia Bibi
christiansinpakistan.com: Russian Patriarch Kirill of Moscow has sent a letter to the President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain, pleading him to pardon the blasphemy convict Asia Bibi. Asia Bibi is a Pakistani Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy. The letter was published on the Patriarchate website. The primate of the […]
Mecca under threat: Outrage at plan to destroy the ‘birthplace’ of the Prophet Mohamed and replace it with a new palace and luxury malls
The site in Mecca where the Prophet Mohamed is said to have been born is about to be “buried under marble” and replaced by a huge royal palace. The work […]
Isis in Syria: In the shadow of death, a few thousand Christians remain to defy militants
BY ROBERT FISK, THE INDEPENDENT Just 15 miles from the frontline of Isis, which persecutes their faith, the Christians of Qamishli gathered in the Church of the Holy Virgin for the wedding of Malek Aissa and Ilana Hacho. The bride was a priest’s sister, the bridegroom a computer engineer, and […]