Muslim scholars aiming to combat religious extremism in the Islamic world have established annual prizes for the best studies on peace and the best initiatives to promote peace in the region. At a meeting in Abu Dhabi on Sunday and Monday, they also recommended the creation of a team of young Muslims trained to visit conflict regions in Muslim countries to spread a message of peace instead of religious-based violence.

The meeting, which was addressed by United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, further agreed to launch a “Muslim Wise Men Council” based in Abu Dhabi to bring together Islamic scholars at annual meetings aimed at promoting peace, according to their communique issued on Tuesday. No further details were immediately available.
About 250 scholars from around the Islamic world attended the meeting, including the Grand Imam of Al Azhar Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, Egypt’s Grand Mufti Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam and Sheikh Abdallalh bin Bayyah, head of the Global Centre for Renewal and Guidance.

“This rise of extremism and terrorism that is trying to legitimise itself through Muslim discourse is alarming,” said Aref Ali Nayed, a leading Libyan scholar and his country’s ambassador to the UAE. “This conference brings together the top Muslim scholars living today. These are the most respected scholars coming together to say the essence of Islam is peace, compassion and blessings. They are here to say no to violence and terrorism.”   »»» Reuters FaithWorld

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The option to wear the headscarf or turban has officially been approved within the practice of football (soccer), the FIFA announced on March 1st. At the request of certain Muslim countries, the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which handles legal aspects of football, had agreed to a tentative trial allowing the headscarf on strict conditions two years ago. The headscarf question had become more prominent in recent years, with Iran having gone as far as pressing charges against the FIFA because its female players, prevented from covering their heads, had to forgo the London Olympics in 2012.

The French president of the FIFA, Jerome Valcke, said during a press conference that a trial period had been undertaken and ‘a decision has been made: female players can have their heads covered while playing.’ The Board saw no valid reasons to ban it if strict conditions are met. The headscarf must be tightly fitted around the player’s head, be coordinated with the player’s uniform, not be attached to the maillot, must not have any loose parts, and must not constitute a danger to the player nor to others.

However, if the new authorization of head-coverings is valid for the whole world, it does not mean that it will be applied everywhere.

Two years ago, the Federation Francaise du Football (FFF) banned its players from wearing the headscarf, ‘in order to respect the constitutional precepts of secularism’ in France. The FFF reiterated that the principle of secularism remained valid including in regards to the participation of French selections in international competitions, and upheld the prohibition on all religious signs in the country.   »»» Euro-Islam

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Three Arab countries have banned the Hollywood film “Noah” on religious grounds because it depicts in images the Prophet Noah even, and several others are expected to follow suit, a representative of Paramount Pictures told Reuters on Saturday.

“Censors for Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE (United Arab Emirates) officially confirmed this week that the film will not release in their countries,” a representative of Paramount Pictures, which produced the $125 million film starring Oscar-winners Russell Crowe and Anthony Hopkins, told Reuters.

“The official statement they offered in confirming this news is because ‘it contradicts the teachings of Islam’,” the representative said, adding the studio expected a similar ban in Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait.

Noah, who in the Bible’s Book of Genesis built the ark that saved his family and many pairs of animals from a great flood, is revered by Judaism, Christianity and Islam. An entire chapter in the Koran is devoted to him.

Cairo’s Al-Azhar, the highest authority of Sunni Islam and a main center of Islamic teaching for over a thousand years, issued a fatwa, or religious brief, against the film on Thursday.

“Al-Azhar … renews its objection to any act depicting the messengers and prophets of God and the companions of the Prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him,” it announced in a statement.

Such depictions “provoke the feelings of believers … and are forbidden in Islam and a clear violation of Islamic law,” the fatwa added.   »»» Reuters

“We sent Noah to his people, saying: “Give warning to your people before there comes to them a painful punishment.” (…) After exhausting all his efforts Noah said: “O Lord! I have pleaded with my people night and day, but my plea has only added to their aversion. Each time I called on them to seek Your pardon, they thrust their fingers in their ears and drew their cloaks over their heads, persisting in sin and puffing themselves up with insolent pride. (…) Because of their wrong doings they were drowned in the great flood and made to enter the fire. They found no one besides Allah to help them. O Lord! Forgive me, my parents and every true believer who seeks refuge in my house, and all believing men and believing women (…).” Qur’an 71:1-28

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Press Release

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Statement about inclusion of the Muslim Brotherhood on the list of terrorist organisations by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior
———
The Muslim Brotherhood was surprised at the press release by the ministry of interior in Saudi Arabia, in which it adds the Muslim Brotherhood to the list of – what it calls – terrorist groups. The Muslim Brotherhood was distressed that this action comes from Saudi Arabia, since Saudi Arabia was one of the first to experience the Muslim Brotherhood’s positive stance towards preserving the interests of people, unity of nations, contributing effectively towards the building of communities and homelands, dissemination of correct Islamic ideologies, and what the group has suffered for the sake of this cause. Therefore, the Muslim Brotherhood would like to stress the following points:

1- In the light of the solid principles of the Muslim Brotherhood regarding intervention in other countries’ affairs, we would like to assure that this new stance by Saudia Arabia contradicts entirely with its historical relations with the Muslim Brotherhood ever since the time of the its founding leader until now.

2- History has proven that the Muslim Brotherhood has always been a pioneer when it comes to spreading correct Islamic ideologies that are free from extremism, and this is what a lot of trustworthy scholars from within Saudi Arabia have testified for. And everyone in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia knows that the Muslim Brotherhood, as ever, say with loud and clear voices whatever they believe is right and this is always based on the Quran and Sunnah of prophet Mohamed (peace and blessings upon him).

3- The Muslim Brotherhood’s stance in dealing with political authorities in other countries and in the Muslim World is based on its clear ideologies: the core of which is that our societies and communities are Muslims, and that the relationship between the people and the political parties – including the ruling party – is that of an adviser rather than an accuser of infidelity or betrayal. The Muslim Brotherhood does not view the state as an infidel or a rebound state, which means the Brotherhood takes no stance of enmity or confrontation with the state, but – rather – acts as an adviser or a guider.

4- Everyone in the Kingdom knows perfectly well that the Muslim Brotherhood always says out loud that the true basis of their call and their activity, is based on and derived from the Book of Allah (the Holy Quran) and the traditions of His Messenger, peace be upon him, (Sunnah). Therefore, the Brotherhood’s approach is based on true, authentic scriptures and sound reasoning.

The Muslim Brotherhood also cooperates with all nations politically in order to achieve common goals, such as having a dignified and free life. It also forms ties with various powers and patriotic personalities of different religious, political, ethnic and sectarian views in order to achieve these common goals.

We emphasize that we do not consider ourselves sole representatives of Islam. Rather, we present our projects and ideologies to the people, and we conduct dialogues with all ideological, social, political and religious groups.

The Muslim Brotherhood will continue to advise and constructively oppose all wrong that is not in the interests of the people and the nation. Moreover, our political and constructive stances – within a community – and our struggle on the path of the peoples’ interests is not purely for the sake of opposition.

The Muslim Brotherhood London Press Office   »»» Ikhwanweb

The movement officially renounced political violence in 1949, over 60 years ago. The Saudi dynasty is no doubt concerned about the ability of the Egyptian Brotherhood’s success in leading the people’s revolution that result in the overthrow of Mubarak.

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The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether prison officials in Arkansas may prohibit inmates from growing beards in accordance with their religious beliefs.

The policy was challenged by Gregory H. Holt, who is serving a life sentence for burglary and domestic battery. Mr. Holt said his Muslim faith required him to grow a beard.

The state’s policy allows trimmed mustaches, along with quarter-inch beards for those with dermatologic problems. Prison officials said the ban on other facial hair was needed to promote “health and hygiene,” to minimize “opportunities for disguise” and to help prevent the concealment of contraband.

Mr. Holt sued under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, a federal law that requires prison officials to show that policies that burden religious practices advance a compelling penological interest and use the least restrictive means to do so. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, in St. Louis, ruled in June that the justifications offered by the officials satisfied that standard.

Mr. Holt filed a handwritten petition in September asking the justices to hear his case, Holt v. Hobbs, No. 13-6827, pointing out that other courts had struck down policies banning beards in prisons. In an interim order in November, the Supreme Court ordered that Mr. Holt be allowed to grow a half-inch beard.

In their response to Mr. Holt’s Supreme Court petition, prison officials told the justices that “homemade darts and other weapons” and “cellphone SIM cards” could be concealed in even half-inch beards. They added that they did not welcome the task of monitoring the lengths of inmates’ beards.

In a reply brief, Mr. Holt, now represented by Douglas Laycock, a law professor at the University of Virginia, said 39 state corrections systems and the federal system already allow prisoners to grow beards. He added that the justifications for the policy were illogical as there were easier places to hide contraband — shoes, say — than in a short beard.

   »»» NYTimes.com

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A century after their sacrifices to France, long forgotten French Muslim soldiers have been remembered by President Francois Hollande who said France “owed a debt” to Muslim soldiers who died in World War I, pledging to fight racism and discrimination targeting the religious minority.

“France will never forget the price of the blood shed” by Muslim soldiers, Hollande said at a ceremony in Paris’s Grand Mosque on Tuesday, February 18, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported.

About 600,000 troops from France’s colonies took part in the 1914-18 war and about 70,000 Muslims lost their lives at the battle of Verdun in 1916, according to figures released by the Defence Ministry in 2010.

Hollande unveiled a plaque paying tribute to the 100,000 French Muslims who died fighting in the two world wars.

Islam is “perfectly compatible with the values of France,” Hollande said.

“This homage is a call for respect,” Hollande said, urging a “fierce fight against discrimination, inequality and racism” as well as against “anti-Muslim words and acts.”

France is home to a Muslim minority of six million, Europe’s largest.

According to a poll published in April last year, three out of four French people have an negative image of Islam.   »»» Euro-Islam

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The Muslim Brotherhood strongly condemns in the strongest possible terms the cowardly attack on a tourist bus in the town of Taba. We extend our most heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and all those who have been affected by this terrorist attack.   »»» Ikhwanweb

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While Texas may have the fifth largest Muslim population in the United States by some estimates, its public art collections have only recently begun to reflect the 14-century sweep of Islamic history. But on Friday, with the stroke of a pen — sealing a complex agreement hashed out over months — the Dallas Museum of Art will become the long-term custodian of one of the most important collections of Islamic art in private hands.

The Keir Collection, amassed over decades in Britain by Edmund de Unger, a Hungarian real-estate magnate who died in 2011, will go to Dallas for at least 15 years beginning in May, under an unusual long-term renewable loan that will give the museum the right to lend pieces to other institutions and to make objects widely available to scholars. The agreement will instantly give Dallas, which now has only a few dozen Islamic pieces, perhaps the third most important Islamic collection in the country, after the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler Galleries in Washington.   »»» NYTimes.com

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A court in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi has sentenced a 70-year-old British man to death after convicting him of blasphemy.

Muhammad Asghar was arrested in 2010 after writing letters to various people claiming to be a prophet, reports say.

His lawyers argued for leniency, saying he has a history of mental illness, but this was rejected by a medical panel.

Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws carry a potential death sentence for anyone deemed to have insulted Islam.

Asghar, who is from Edinburgh, Scotland, was accused of writing letters to police officers claiming to be a prophet. He is thought to have lived in Pakistan for several years.

Muhammad Asghar is a British Pakistani from Edinburgh who came back to Pakistan to look after the family’s property here. He has been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic by the Royal Victoria Hospital in Edinburgh and is also partially paralysed from a stroke. The court did not accept his medical reports from the UK, reports say.

Correspondents say Asghar is unlikely to be executed as Pakistan has had a de facto moratorium on the death penalty since 2008. He was also ordered to pay a substantial fine by the court.

Blasphemy is a highly sensitive issue in Pakistan, where 97% of the population are Muslim.

Muslims constitute a majority of those prosecuted, followed by the minority Ahmadi community.   »»» BBC News

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“All Muslims may not be terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.” This comment , frequently heard after the Mumbai bomb blasts implies that terrorism is a Muslim specialty, if not a monopoly. The facts are very different.

First, there is nothing new about terrorism. In 1881, anarchists killed the Russian Tsar Alexander II and 21 bystanders. In 1901, anarchists killed US President McKinley as well as King Humbert I of Italy.

World War I started in 1914 when anarchists killed Archduke Ferdinand of Austria. These terrorist attacks were not Muslim. Terrorism is generally defined as the killing of civilians for political reasons.

The British Raj referred to Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad and many other Indian freedom fighters as terrorists. These were Hindu and Sikh rather than Muslim.

Guerrilla fighters from Mao Zedong to Ho Chi Minh and Fidel Castro killed civilians during their revolutionary campaigns. They too were called terrorists until they triumphed.

Nothing Muslim about them. In Palestine, after World War II, Jewish groups (the Haganah, Irgun and Stern Gang) fought for the creation of a Jewish state, bombing hotels and installations and killing civilians.

The British, who then governed Palestine, rightly called these Jewish groups terrorists. Many of these terrorists later became leaders of independent Israel — Moshe Dayan, Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin, Ariel Sharon.

Ironically, these former terrorists then lambasted terrorism, applying this label only to Arabs fighting for the very same nationhood that the Jews had fought for earlier.

In Germany in 1968-92, the Baader-Meinhoff Gang killed dozens, including the head of Treuhand, the German privatisation agency. In Italy, the Red Brigades kidnapped and killed Aldo Moro, former prime minister.

The Japanese Red Army was an Asian version of this. Japan was also the home of Aum Shinrikyo, a Buddhist cult that tried to kill thousands in the Tokyo metro system using nerve gas in 1995.

In Europe, the Irish Republican Army has been a Catholic terrorist organisation for almost a century. Spain and France face a terrorist challenge from ETA, the Basque terrorist organisation.

Africa is ravaged by so much civil war and internal strife that few people even bother to check which groups can be labelled terrorist. They stretch across the continent.

Possibly the most notorious is the Lord’s Salvation Army in Uganda, a Christian outfit that uses children as warriors. In Sri Lanka, the Tamil Tigers have long constituted one of the most vicious and formidable terrorist groups in the world.

They were the first to train children as terrorists. They happen to be Hindus. Suicide bombing is widely associated with Muslim Palestinians and Iraqis, but the Hindu Tamil Tigers were the first to use this tactic on a large scale.

There are or have been terrorist groups among Christians, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, and even Buddhists. Secular terrorists (anarchists, Maoists) have been the biggest killers.

Catholic Irish terrorists have killed far more people in Britain than Muslims, yet the subway bombings in London and Madrid are what Europeans remember today.   »»» Terrorism is not a Muslim monopoly By Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar,TNN | Sailan Muslim (Sri Lanka)

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