Syrian Army Expels Takfiris out of Prophet Mohammad Companion’s Grave

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The Syrian army after 18 month had expelled Takfiri militants out of the shrine of Prophet Mohammad’s (PBUH) dignified companion, Hujr Ibn Adi al-Kindi, in the town of Adra.

The Syrian army had regained full control of the town of Adra, following fierce clashes with foreign-backed Takfiri militants.

Last Year, the militants desecrated the holy shrine of the dignified companion of Prophet Mohammad, demolishing it, as they had made with dozens of shrines of prophets, Imams and their companions in several areas across Iraq and Syria.

Al-Manar toured the shrine and examined the total destruction inflicted on the place by the Takfiris.  

Hujr Ib Adi was a companion of the Prophet Mohammad. He was sentenced to death by the Umayyad Caliph Muawiyah in the year of 660 for his unwavering support and praise for Imam Ali (PBUH).

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War on ISIL Will Fail without Iran: Ayatollah Rafsanjani

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The international coalition against the so-called ‘Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’ (ISIL) will fail without Iran’s support, former President Sheikh Hashemi Rafsanjani warned Sunday.

Speaking in Tehran, Rafsanjani, Iran’s fourth president and a founder of the Islamic republic, said: “The airstrikes will not destroy this organization and no solution can be found for terrorism in the region without Iran.”

In his remarks, reported by the official IRNA news agency, Rafsanjani lambasted the West for insisting Iran join the alliance against ISIL.

“You [the West] imposed sanctions on us, therefore we deem you as our enemies and will not side with you,” he added.

Sanctions were imposed in relation to Iran’s nuclear program, which is suspected of having military applications, a suspicion denied by Iran.

Rafsanjani is seen as a moderate figure in Iranian politics, where he still wields influence.

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Iran Supreme Leader sends condolence letter to Ayatollah Shahroudi

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The office of the Supreme Leader of Islamic Revolution (Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei) has published a letter His Eminence sent to Ayatollah Sayyed Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi on the passing of his mother.

Ayatollah Shahroudi is a an Iraqi-Iranian source of emulation who served as the Head of Iran’s Judiciary from 1999 to 2009.

The text of Ayatollah Khamenei’s message is as follows:

In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Dear Ayatollah Sayyed Haj Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi (may God make your blessings everlasting),

I offer my condolences to you and your family on the passing of your dear mother who was the proud mother of three honourable martyrs and I pray to God Almighty that you continue to persist in your efforts.

May the Lord include your dear mother in His mercy and forgiveness and gather her with her martyred sons in Heaven.

Sayyed Ali Khamenei
27 September, 2014

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Israel bans Muslims from Ibrahimi Mosque

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For the second time in less than a week, Israeli authorities will ban Muslim worshipers from entering Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque beginning Tuesday, Sept. 30 in preparation for the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur on Oct. 4.

An official at the mosque said that the mosque would be completely closed to Muslim worshipers, while “Jewish settlers” would be allowed free access.

The Israeli authorities closed the mosque to Muslim worshipers last Thursday and Friday on the occasion of the Jewish New Year as well.

Restrictions on Palestinian movement across the West Bank are frequently put in place during major Jewish holidays, ostensibly for security reasons.

Hebron specifically is a frequent site of tensions due to the presence of 500 Israeli settlers in the Old City, many of whom have illegally occupied Palestinian houses and forcibly removed the original inhabitants. They are protected by thousands of Israeli forces.

In 1994, an Israeli settler opened fire on Muslim worshipers in the Ibrahimi Mosque, killing 29 and injuring more than 100 Palestinians.

More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in contravention of international law.

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Australia: Sikhs say they are being targeted amid anti-Muslim tensions

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Sikhs have reported an increase in abuse in Australia from people mistaking them for hardline Muslims in the aftermath of the recent terror raids and the shooting of a known extremist.

Community leaders from around the country have reported rising tensions – and now Sikhs, who wear turbans and long beards, say they have been targeted.  

Harjit Singh from the Australian Sikh Hertiage Association has experienced the rise of verbal abuse towards Sikhs and urges Australian’s to educate themselves on their heritage in Australia.

‘We walk down the street and sometimes we do get abused, being called a terrorist or go home Taliban, those things are just unfortunate,’ Mr Singh told SBS.

Mr Singh said Sikhs have been part of Australia’s culture for 150 years and insists that the nation should embrace multiculturalism at a time where fear is so easy to accept.

The increased panic comes as Australia’s terror alert level has been raised to ‘high’, citing the domestic threat posed by Islamic State supporters.

Earlier this month the nation experienced it’s largest counter-terror raids in Australia’s history, as police detained 16 people across Sydney and Brisbane and charged one with conspiring to behead a random person.

Since then, a terror suspect was shot dead after he stabbed two Australian counter-terrorism police officers.

Now Sikhs are facing the brunt of it, as Australian’s mistake the religious group for radical Muslims due to their traditional costume – a turban and beard.

This has prompted community members in Kellyville, north-west Sydney, to combat ignorance in communities by creating an initiative, the Super Sikh Cup, that will educate Australians and tackle fear against turban wearers.

On Sunday hundreds gathered on the field to compete for the Super Sikh Cup, which saw communities come together in an attempt to bridge cultural divides.

Despite this step taken to combat the issue, fear and discrimination against Sikhs are still embedded within communities in Australia.

Mr Singh works with Turbans and Trust, a group that uses the turban as a vehicle to discuss faith, religion and multiculturalism between different races.

Turban and Trust allows people to try on a turban and educate themselves on it’s history.   

‘It’s simply a form of head covering respecting their religious observance, there are many such things around different traditions in the world and most of them present nothing whatsoever for people to be afraid of or worried about,’ Kevin Connelly, the Local Member for Riverstone in north-west Sydney said.   

The turban has existed for thousands of years and around 500 years ago Sikh’s decided to incorporate the turban into their community as a sign of equality.

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Independent Muslim schools in London to face new ‘Trojan Horse’ inquiry

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Independent Muslim schools in London are being investigated amid fears that hardline Islamic extremism is being promoted among pupils and staff,

As many as a dozen private schools in Tower Hamlets, east London, are being looked into by officials over reports that fundamentalism is being spread.

A Whitehall source said while investigations are in ‘their very early stages’, there is concern within the Department of Education over a number of fee-paying Muslim schools in the borough which has one of the strongest Muslim communities in the capital.

Unlike the ‘Trojan Horse’ scandal which saw secular schools in Birmingham being infiltrated by extremists, the affected institutions in Tower Hamlets are all thought to be Muslim.

Five schools were placed in special measures in Birmingham earlier this year after evidence suggested the views of Islamic extremists were being pushed upon pupils and staff.

The Department of Education would not confirm whether Tower Hamlets was specifically at risk, but said it would consider ‘any evidence’ brought forward.

‘All schools are subject to a tough inspection regime and we have been clear we will not hesitate to take firm and swift action if pupils are being let down or placed at risk.

‘Keeping our children safe, and ensuring our schools prepare them for life in modern Britain, could not be more important.’

Earlier this week an address in the area was searched as part of an ongoing police effort to crack down on terror.

Eleven men were arrested across the capital and in Stoke-on-Trent as part of the Scotland Yard effort.  

It comes as Ofsted prepares to publish the findings of 40 snap inspections across the country, launched amid concerns that some schools were not offering a broad enough curriculum.

Jewish, Christian and Islamic schools were among those visited in Luton, Bradford, London and Manchester

Former terror chief Peter Clarke told ministers earlier this month it was likely allegations of extremist infiltration at the schools involved in the Trojan Horse scandal could be applied to other institutions across the country.

Golden Hillock School, Nansen Primary School, Park View School, Oldknow Academy and Saltley School – which are all run by the Park View Educational Trust – were placed in special measures following complaints.

Giving evidence to the Commons education select committee, he said it was incumbent on the government to investigate the situation.

‘I’m not a great believer in coincidence and I would find it very surprising if this was only happening in the few schools that we had the time and opportunity to look at in east Birmingham,’ Mr Clarke told the cross-party group of MPs.

‘Some of the people who were involved in promulgating these techniques of gaining control and influence in schools have had national roles in various educational bodies and I know have lectured and taken part in conferences in other cities.’

Earlier this month an inquiry into the Birmingham school heard a ‘violent, extremist’ video was shown in the classroom.

Ian Kershaw, a former head teacher, told the Birmingham City Council that examples of ‘bad behaviour’ in the school included the film, which was ‘completely inappropriate to young people’.  

He described this film as a ‘violent, extremist video’, and when committee chairman Graham Stuart asked if it was ‘jihadist, violent, extremist promotional video’, Mr Kershaw indicated that it was.

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Chinese court sentences two men to death for killing a Muslim cleric

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Chinese state media say two men were sentenced to death and another to life imprisonment for killing a Muslim cleric in the far western city of Kashgar.

The government-run news portal Tianshan Net said the court in Kashgar on Sunday found Gheni Hasan and Nurmemet Abidilimit guilty of organising and leading a terrorist group as well as intentional homicide, and sentenced them to death.

Tianshan says the third man, Atawulla Tursun, participated in the terror group.

Chinese media say Nurmemet Abidilimit and two other men killed imam Jume Tahir, aged 74, after dawn prayers at a major mosque on 30 July, amid a string of violence by members of the Uighur minority against government institutions and supporters.

Nurmemet Abidilimit was arrested, and the other two were shot dead by police.

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Belgium Becomes Recruiting Hub for Islamic State Fighters

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Belgian authorities say the country has become a hub for jihadists going to Syria to fight alongside Islamic State (IS) militants, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Dozens of members of the so-called Sharia4Belgium group have left for Syria since the first jihadist from the group, Nabil Kasmi, did so in 2012. On Monday, Kasmi and 45 other Sharia4Belgium members will go on trial as Europe strives to address the issue of becoming a recruitment zone for jihadists.

The trial is seen as part of Belgium’s strategy to stop the flow of people leaving to join extremist groups in Syria and Iraq. Other European nations are implementing tougher legislation as well in order to reverse the flows.

European leaders point out that those returning from jihad in Syria and Iraq pose a threat to national security. However, according to the newspaper, civil rights groups and Muslim organizations believe that instead of more aggressive policing methods, governments should focus on stopping radicalization from occurring in the first place.

The United Kingdom has granted law-enforcement officials the right to strip terrorist suspects of their passports and citizenship without judicial oversight. France is considering a similar law. The UN Security Council last week voted to make fighting for IS or al-Qaeda illegal.

Some 2,500 European Union citizens are reported to have gone to fight in Syria, with about 300 from Belgium. Many of them are Sharia4Belgium members or have links to the group.

Sharia4Belgium is a radical Belgian organization founded in Antwerp. The group denounces democracy and supports the idea of turning Belgium into an Islamist state.

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United States is the biggest terrorist in last two centuries

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In an exclusive interview with AhlulBayt News Agancy -ABNA- , Kenneth Nichols O’Keefe, an Irish-Palestinian citizen and activist and former United States Marine and Gulf War veteran, criticized US policies in confronting terrorism.

The following is a transcript of the interview:

Q: What is your idea about US policy in the Middle East? If you want to compare this policy with humanitarian law, is it in accordance with this law in countries like Yemen, Iraq, Palestine and Syria?

A: By any reasonable definition or saying the word terrorist, the United States is the greatest terrorist of 20 and 21 century. There is no question of this. There are millions and millions of dead people, refugees Guantanamo Bay torture, illegal bombings and drone strikes, the United States is not in position, what so ever, to speak about morality or international law. It is the biggest violator of international law. It is the greatest terrorist of the 20 and 21st century.

Q: Is there any end in these policies? What is your prediction?

A: when we speak of the United States, what I believe we are referring to is the extension of the real power. The United States is the enforcement arm of the real power; those who have the real power and those who control the financial system. So those who control the private banks, the central banks, the federal reserve of the United States, the bank of England, the European Central bank, the big commercial banks, the bank of international settlements, the world bank, the IMF, those who control the finance have the power and with their amount of money, the infinite supply of money they have, they use money to buy everything and anyone that can be bought.

The United States is the enforcement arm of that power. So the United States is not the real power. It is an extension of the power.

The end goal of those who have the power is absolute control, total control over everything and this is why those who are not controlled, Iran, Russia, Venezuela under Chavez and Maduro, they don’t like this. They don’t like anything they cannot control. So the end goal is to control everything and everyone. There would be no freedom.

Q: Will they be successful?

A: No, they will not. They will fail. If they had sought, if they had settled for almost total control, they could probably carry on like this indefinitely. But because they want total control, they would fail and they are failing.

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‘Jews Against Genocide’ take the blood bucket challenge at Yad Vashem

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Activists from Jews Against Genocide have released a video compilation depicting their version of the Blood Bucket Challenge, an extreme spin on the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which flooded Facebook feeds for the last three months.

Originally conceived by Ohio University student senate president Megan Merzak, who received a barrage of death and rape threats following the release of her video, activists poured buckets of fake blood over themselves after reciting “we remember…,” statements in memorial of the more than 2,100 Palestinians killed in the last Israeli assault on Gaza. The activists filmed themselves in front of Yad Vashem, the holocaust museum in West Jerusalem, the US embassy in Tel Aviv, the Israeli Supreme Court in Jerusalem, the Israeli military radio station in Tel Aviv, and the Knesset, Israel’s parliament building in Jerusalem.

“The recent massacre may be over for now, but most people here are keen on forgetting and are not doing anything to end the crimes committed by the Israeli government. Furthermore, a committed activist in the US has been the victim of a vicious campaign for carrying out a similar action. We also want to express our solidarity with her,” said activist Neta Golan, who recited JAG’s collective memorial statement before dousing herself in front of Yad Vashem.

JAG was inspired by Gaza’s civil society, calling on the international community to ‘intensify BDS against Israel in all fields,’ and follows another original revision of the meme, the Rubble Bucket Challenge by Palestinians in Gaza.

International chapters of JAG are planning for parallel actions at Israeli embassies across the world and hope the video will arouse participation of other Palestine solidarity communities.

JAG activist Ofer Neiman laments Israel’s current social climate;

“Unfortunately, most people seem to have buried the massacre perpetrated by the Israeli government, deep under their consciousness. We must keep shouting and acting.”

JAG’s press release regarding the actions also cited the unfortunate recent developments in Israel’s relationship to the U.S. and the United Nations;

“Less than a month after Israel murdered 2137 women, men, and children in Gaza, the US senate rewarded Israel for its crimes. It unanimously passed a bill that increases Israeli access to weapons and encourages Israel’s entry into the US visa waiver program. The UN appointed the first military officer from Israel’s occupation force to an official UN position in a global peace keeping force.”

The Israeli participants in the video did not encounter obstacles when filming despite the sensitive nature of the locations. They hope the visual will reach audiences that have yet to encounter the full spectrum of Israeli state sponsored violence inflicted upon Palestinians.

“If we stop and relax now, it’s just a matter of time before the next massacre, before the next genocide,” said Golan.

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