A mosque and Islamic school have been attacked and set alight in the southern Nigerian city of Benin, police say.

Police told the BBC that one person was killed, 10 arrested and that part of the mosque was still burning.

It follows a separate attack on a different mosque in the city on Monday.

In recent weeks, southerners, who are mostly Christians or animists, have been the targets of deadly attacks by the Islamist Boko Haram group, which operates in the mainly Muslim north.

The attack is the latest in a spiral of sectarian violence that has seen many southerners living in the north flee their homes.

Nigerian writer and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka blamed the violence on leaders who put their own religion above national unity.

“When you get a situation where a bunch of people can go to a place of worship and open fire through the windows you’ve reached a certain dismal watershed in the life of that nation,” he said in a BBC interview.

“There’s no question at all, whatsoever. Those who have created this faceless army have lost control of that army.”   »»» BBC News

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At the reception of Mr Ismail Haniyeh (Palestinian Hamas leader) at Tunis-Carthage Airport on Thursday 5 January 2011, a handful of individuals among the hundreds of people welcoming Mr Haniyeh raised some anti-Jewish slogans. Ennahdha (Tunisia’s main Islamist-affiliated political party) reiterates that Jewish citizens have lived peacefully in Tunisia for centuries, and that Jews in Tunisia are full citizens with equal rights and duties.

Ennahdha condemns these slogans which do not represent Islam’s spirit or teachings, and considers those who raised them as a marginal group. It also denounces certain European lobbies’ alarmist declarations and attempts to tarnish the image of Tunisia and the achievements of the revolution using islamophobia and anti-semitism as pretexts for their campaign.
   »»» Ikhwanweb

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Muslim youths yesterday grouped themselves to guard churches in Minna, Niger State Capital, during Sunday Services.The youths said this was aimed at furthering their campaign for the promotion of inter-religious unity in the country.

The leader of the group, Gimba Kakanda, who spoke to Daily Trust, said, “We are protecting our fellow Christian brothers and sisters to show the world that our leaders cannot use religion to divide us. We want to send a signal by coming here to protect Christians that we are one and we can stand to protect one another”.   »»» allAfrica.com

Boko Harm, a radical, so-called “Muslim” sect that has claimed responsibility for church bombings has demanded that all Christians leave Northern Nigeria. They violate the commandments of God and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him), who have said that Christians must be allowed to live in peace among Muslims and that Muslims must do eveything in their power to protect the Christians’ lives, honour and property.

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This year’s Christmas celebrations, the first following the ousting of Mubarak and his regime, took on a new note with the meeting between Muslim Brotherhood (MB) leaders and Church representatives and leaders in Alexandria. During the former regime, extreme measures were made to hinder any meeting between the two factions.

After congratulating Pope Shenouda III, Ezzat stressed: “Throughout history Egyptians have participated in the building of the nation disregarding religious differences between Muslims and Christians. Unfortunately the ousted regime had worked hard inciting sedition between both factions preventing positive interaction, forbearance and the spirit of acceptance between them. Islam ordains that there be mercy and respect between all divine (Abrahamic) religions present in the country“.

He stressed: “Following the revolution, the people’s genuine kindness was able to surface along with that of the MB; we extend our warmest wishes to our Copt brethren on the birthday of the Prophet Jesus (PBUH)”.

A delegation from the MB and the MB-affiliated Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) visited the Margergus Church in North Cairo conveying warm wishes to the Copts there.   »»» Ikhwanweb

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For the first time in history following a gruelling court case, a verdict allowed that female television hosts and anchors working on Egypt’s state TV have the right to wear the hijab (headscarf).

Although the ruling was announced just recently on December 4, the number of veiled TV hosts has notably escalated, ending the repression of freedom of attire formerly enforced by authorities.

The case of veiled TV hosts goes as far back as 1970, when Kariman Hamza wore the veil while presenting her TV show. The number increased in 2002 when 5 TV hosts working on the Alexandria channel 5 were prevented from appearing on their shows because of their veils.

In 2003, 6 veiled female hosts were also banned from appearing on air including 2 from the Nile News Channel, And 2 from the English Nile TV channel. All in all 24 veiled TV hosts were banned from appearing on the screen before the revolution.

Since 1965, state TV had maintained a secular look, not allowing female anchors to appear with any religious symbols despite no written statement banning the veil.

Many veiled hosts were reduced to roles behind the camera for wearing the veil working on audio, while others handed in resignations for being denied the right to appear on air wearing their veils. State television and radio had banned them hosts such as Kamelia el Araby from appearing. Former chairman Hassan Hamed had announced that any contracts would be annulled in the case of TV hosts choosing to wear the headscarf.

In fact, 95% of graduates majoring in radio and television in journalism in Egypt wear the headscarf, causing a gap in the number of those able to be part of the work force.   »»» Ikhwanweb

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Hani Ramadan, grandson of Imam Hassan El-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, confirmed “The group is ready and qualified for democracy and will be able to form a government which will include all the spectra.”

He ruled out completely any risk of discrimination against minorities. And he pointed out that the Vice Chairman of the MB’s political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), is the Coptic Christian Rafiq Habib   »»» allAfrica.com

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A group of Greeks that includes bishops, academics and military officers have appealed against a parliamentary bill that will allow the construction of a mosque in the Greek capital.

According to the Greek press, a petition submitted to the Council of State in December was signed by Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus, as well as a university professor, naval officers and five residents of the area in which the mosque is planned to be built. The appeal argues that the construction of a mosque would be in violation of the constitution and harmful for national unity. It also cites the high cost of the building project in the face of Greece’s financial crisis.

Known for his far-right views, Seraphim said the bill constituted an anti-Christian action and described it as disrespectful to Christian martyrs. He went on to condemn the Greek parliament for approving such a bill.   »»» Today’s Zaman (Turkey)

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The Muslim Students Society of Nigeria, MSSN, has condemned the Christmas Day bombing at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madala, Niger State, where more than 30 worshippers lost their lives to suspected members of the radical Boko Haram sect.   »»» allAfrica.com

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Egypt’s powerful Muslim Brotherhood said Wednesday it would protect churches during Coptic Christmas in January in a bid to prevent attacks on Christian places of worship.

“We have decided to form Muslim Brotherhood committees to protect the churches so that the hands of sin do not ruin the festivities like they did several times under the old regime,” the group said in a statement.

The largest party belonging to the more hard-line Salafi movements, Al-Nour, has come a close runner-up, after the Muslim Brotherhood, in the first two rounds of polling.

It said earlier in the day that sending Christmas greetings to Christians is “against our beliefs.”

Al-Nour’s spokesman Nadar Bakar, told the Associated Press Wednesday that Muslims should only give greetings to Christians on “personal occasions,” not religious ones.

The remarks prompted Egypt’s Al-Azhar, one of the Muslim world’s most eminent universities and religious institutions, to issue a religious edict (fatwa) approving Christmas greetings, while the Muslim Brotherhood, responded by sending “its best Christmas wishes to our brotherly Christians and Muslims as well.”   »»» THE DAILY STAR

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Members of Nigeria’s FCT Muslim community yesterday visited the victims of the Christmas day bomb blast, which occurred at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla in Suleja, Niger.

The visit to the National Hospital in Abuja was led by Sheikh Abdulwaheed Abubakar, Head of the FCT Council of Imams and Ulamas.

Abubakar dissociated Islam from the carnage that occurred on Christmas day, saying “Islam is a religion of peace, and no one should link the bomb blast to Islam”.

Abubakar said that the delegation was on a mission of goodwill and to distance themselves from the perpetrators of the carnage.

He prayed for peaceful co-existence between the Muslim and Christian communities.   »»» allAfrica.com

The Boku Haram sect (which has taken responsibility for the attack) claim to be Muslim; they are not. They have set themselves up above God himself. They kill Christians and fellow Muslims, in direct contradiction to the commandments of God in the Qur’an that says it is a sin to kill a fellow believer and a sin to kill the People of the Book (i.e., Christians and Jews).

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