Buddist mob kills 10 Muslim scholars in Myanmar

Jeddah: Fouzia Khan

Monday 11 June 2012

Sectarian violence has gripped western Myanmar after 10 Muslim scholars were killed by a Buddhist mob on June 3. The Rohingya Muslims living in the Kingdom are worried about their homes and families in the state of Rakhine.
Rakhine is home to Buddhist ethnic population and a large Muslim group. This includes the Rohingya, a stateless people described by the UN as one of the world’s most persecuted minorities.
The Myanmar government considers the Rohingya as foreigners and not one of the nation’s ethnic groups, while many citizens see them as illegal immigrants and view them with hostility. For the past 60 years they were not given their rights.
Almost 500,000 Rohingya are living in the Kingdom at the moment and they have appealed to the United Nations (UN), the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the organization for human rights, the Red Crescent, the Saudi government and others to interfere in the matter and protect the Rohingya.
“We are worried about our Muslim brothers and sisters in Rahkine. We, Rohingya, never shared the same rights as Myanmar nationals. We’ve lived our lives as refugees in countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia,” said Mohammad Noor-ul-Islam a scholar and teacher, who has been living in the Kingdom for the past 25 years.
The situation is very critical and not favorable to Muslims in Rakhine. “The Myanmar government sent troops after the clashes, but we fear they will not provide any security to Muslim homes and families. The soldiers are also Buddhist Magh and will side with the Magh in the area,” said Noor-ul-Islam.
He pleaded with world leaders to put pressure on the Myanmar government to send Burmese soldiers from Yangon and remove the Magh soldiers from the area if they want peace and prosperity. Noor-ul-Islam also appealed to the UN to open an office in the area to monitor the situation.
“We request that the Saudi government and all the world organizations to put pressure on the Myanmar government for the security of the Rohingya, facilitating them with food and security on the basis of humanitarian rights.
We would also like for human right departments and military camps to have direct contact with the Myanmar government instead of going through the Maghs,” said Maulana Mohammed Younus Al-Arakani, another Rohingya living in the Kingdom.
“We want justice for our people, who have been suffering for the past 60 years,” he added.
Hafeezur Rahman has lived in the Kingdom for the past 20 years. He has an elder brother and sister living in Rakhine state and said the situation is becoming worse every moment.
“There is no communication system, no electricity and food. People fear death and hunger. Mobs are killing and looting the shops and Muslims are not allowed to go out, because of a curfew,” said Hafeezur Rahman.
Maulana Saleh Ahmed Akther Zaman said the media could go anywhere in the world but not to the Rakhine Muslim area. There is no TV station, nor are journalists allowed to report here.
The Rohingya people in Saudi Arabia also appealed to the world organizations to send independent journalists to the area, so the Myanmar government could not censor any information.
According to the UN, about 750,000 Rohingya live in Myanmar, mainly in Rakhine. Another one million or more are thought to live in other countries.

http://arabnews.com/myanmar-muslims-call-un-intervention-rakhine-state-0

Shaheem to start Quran Memorization Mega Project

keerithi quraan hithudhas 500 haafizun ufedhumuge muhimmu mashroou eh fashumah, nimmafin, insha allah,
mikamuge ithuru thafseel hafthaa eh ge therey libigen dhaane, mikan kuriyah gendhaani quruaan marukaz ge belumuge dhashun, raajjeyge thibi reethi koh kiyavaa kudhinah iskan dheegen, 3 aharun dhaskoh nimey gothah, mahaku 03 foiy dhaskuraa gothah, adhi , mi fursathah kudhin nagaani emme molhethi kudhin, adhi e gothah mi corse ga kiyava kudin nah faisaage elavanseh ves libeyne mageh hoadhaanan , insha alah, school ga kiyava kudinah ves bayveri veveyne, kaari musthaqbaleh ga meege 20-30 dhemedhuge kudhin kiyevun fesheyne kamah ummeedhu kuran.

Sheikh mohamed shaheem ali saeed

Amnesty says Muslims in Europe face discrimination

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

PARIS: Amnesty International says in a new report that Muslims in several European countries face discrimination in hiring and daily life because of rules targeting their customs.

The report pays special attention to national laws or local rules against wearing headscarves or face-covering Islamic veils in countries such as France and Belgium.
The human rights group spoke to Muslims who have had trouble getting jobs or had to change schools because of discrimination.
It notes the rise in political movements that target Muslims or Muslim practices.
The report comes after far right leader Marine Le Pen scored a surprisingly strong third-place showing in France’s presidential elections. Her anti-immigrant platform singled out Muslim practices for criticism.

Muslims Only

Peace TV finalizes plan to launch 24-hour Arabic channel

RIYADH: Internationally renowned scholar Dr. Zakir Naik, who is founder and president of the India-based Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), said in Riyadh yesterday that the IRF-owned Peace TV has finalized plans to launch a 24-hour Arabic-language Islamic channel.

“The Arabic channel, to air in mid-2013, will be dedicated especially for Arabic-speaking viewers around the world,” said Naik.

Peace TV is a major Islamic satellite television network with a record global viewership exceeding more than 100 million.

Naik, who has delivered more than 1,500 public lectures across the world, including some 220 in Saudi Arabia alone, on comparative religion, said Peace TV Arabic channel would not be just another Islamic channel.

“There are more than 60 Arabic channels today but the Peace TV channel will be unique in content and technology,” said the IRF chief.

Naik, who will inaugurate a branch and bookstore of Darussalam International Publications Company in Riyadh today, was felicitated at a dinner reception hosted in the capital on Wednesday night by Rashid Ali Sheikh, an Indian businessman and social worker.

Another reception in honor of this Islamic scholar, to be attended by a large number of diplomats, businessmen and Saudi as well as non-Saudi officials and guests, will be hosted by Abdul Malik Mujahid, Darussalam managing director, in the capital tomorrow.

Naik said he was happy to attend the opening ceremony of Darussalam branch in Riyadh. “Darussalam is probably the biggest publisher of Islamic books in the world,” he added.

Entry to Darussalam's inaugural program at the Riyadh Avenue Mall (Lulu Hypermarket) is open to all. A raffle draw will be organized on the sidelines of the opening ceremony, said Mustafa Habib Siddiqui, Darussalam media manager.

Asked about the uniqueness of the proposed Peace TV's Arabic channel, the IRF chief added: “It will be far superior to existing channels.”

The new channel will have access to the world's 300 million native Arabic speakers, he added. He said the new channel would be a respected global media outlet presenting Islam and removing misconceptions about Muslims and the Islamic world.

Asked about the popularity of the Peace TV programs, he said viewership is growing and his presence on the channels was about 17 to 18 percent in terms of airspace. He pointed out that Peace TV has had a large number of speakers and presenters, including many from Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. Sheikh Asim Al-Hakeem and Sheikh Ahmed bin Saifuddin, who have been associated with the channel for the last several years, are some of them.

Naik said he had no plans to deliver public lectures during this trip to the Kingdom. The Islamic scholar in his interview also spoke about the lawsuit he had filed against the UK government after it imposed an exclusion order on his visa/entry into the UK a couple of years ago. He also explained how his statements were often construed without any substance to be in favor of social persecution and for political action abroad.

Naik made it clear that he does not support any act of terrorism, but his Islamic speeches, especially when he criticizes Western powers for their interventions in the affairs of the Muslim countries, are often taken out of context to blame him as a supporter of “terrorism and extremism.”

On the ban imposed by the UK since June 2010, he said the term “exclusion” means authorities will not grant him a visa to travel to the country. “But my books and reading materials are freely available in the UK,” he added.

Naik, who earlier challenged his exclusion in a UK court, has approached the France-based European Court of Human Rights, which will now decide whether he will be allowed into the UK or not. Naik said he has never been prevented from entering any country in the past.

Naik’s popularity can be gauged from the fact that “The Indian Express”, one of India’s top daily newspapers, listed him recently as the country's 89th most powerful person, ahead of Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen and eminent lawyer and former attorney general Soli Sorabjee.

The Islamic scholar said the IRF had planned to open two world-class international Islamic schools in Riyadh and Jeddah. These schools will be run based on the model of his Mumbai-based school, he noted.

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article585180.ece