The birth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) drew hundreds of Muslims to the 3rd annual Shia-Sunni symposium on March 22. The event was attended by Muslim scholars, and activists from So. California. Each distinguished speaker addressed areas of commonality and concern amongst the two major branches of Islam and ways to move forward together.
UN CHIEF CONDEMNS ANTI-ISLAM FILM
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned a controversial film on Islam made by a Dutch politician, calling it “offensively anti-Islamic”. The film sets verses from the Qur’an against a background of violent images from terror attacks.
Reproducing the cartoons that insulted the Messenger of Allah (S) is nothing but the continuation of the West’s brazen attempt to humiliate them. The West defeated the “moors” centuries ago and had to vacate the Muslim lands by mid-20th century. But they are not willing to give up any opportunity to remind them that they are at their mercy.
CHARGES DROPPED IN HADITHA CASE
In Haditha in November 2005 US marines indiscriminately killed 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians, including women and children. After public outcry, the US army decided to try eight marines of involuntary manslaughter of unarmed children, reckless endangerment and aggravated assault.
After three years, the US military has dropped all charges against one of the marines accused of involvement in the killing. Five of the eight men initially accused already had all charges dismissed.
UK MUSLIM WOMEN TO FIGHT TERRORISM
In a school in south London, women in headscarves are learning English, childcare skills and citizenship, to smooth their integration into British life. The courses are organised under a new government policy to “empower” Muslim women, ultimately to combat the Islamist violence. The policy’s main goal is for United Kingdom’s 800,000 Muslim women to become more influential in their communities, which might stem the threat from disaffected young Muslim men.
DEATH TOLL FOR IRAQ WAR REACHES 4,000
The U.S. military says a roadside bomb killed four more U.S. soldiers in Baghdad. Is there any attempt to keep a similar account of Iraqi deaths? The US military issues daily accounts of how many Iraqis it killed, but never adds the number or tallies the total with the reports in the local media.
13 IRAQIS KILLED BY SHELLS FIRED AT THE GREEN ZONE
A bomb in a parked car killed six and wounded at least 10 and as many as 20 mortar shells fell in the heavily fortified Green Zone. According to tallies by AP and Icasualties.org, the military deaths pushed the number of Americans killed in the five-year-old war to at least 4,000.
WHERE’S THE MEDIA?
Five years later, the United States remains at war in Iraq, but US media attention on Iraq began to wane after the first months of fighting. Since then, Iraq coverage by major American news sources has plummeted, to about one-fifth of what it was last summer. The drop in coverage parallels a decline in public interest. Surveys show that the interest in Iraq war has been running below 30 per cent since last fall.
Blackwater officials insist that they are entitled by law to classify their hirelings in Iraq as non-employees. But the Internal Revenue Service has concluded otherwise.
US SUPPLIER SENT OLD ARMS FOR AFGHANS
To arm Afghan forces to fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, the U.S. has relied on a fledgling company that has provided ammunition that is more than 40 years old.
HOME EQUITY LOANS AS NEXT IN CREDIT CRISIS
Lulled by good times, millions of Americans borrowed – sometimes heavily – against their homes. Now the bill is coming due. A sweeping investigation into failed subprime lender New Century Financial found that its accounting firm, KPMG, enabled its “improper and imprudent practices.”
AMBITIOUS MEN DO DISSERVICE
Ambitious men sometimes do a disservice to the best in their own communities. And Barack Obama is an ambitious man.
NEW YORK GOVERNOR RESIGNS
Seeming “reformer” turned out to be the biggest hypocrite. In the second week of March the biggest scandal in recent years exploded. The governor of New York State, Eliot Spitzer made a reputation as a fighter against corruption. He went after prostitution rings and related crime with an intensity that could have made Saudi Mutawas proud. But quietly, he was himself sexually using the most expensive call girls in America. He was “client number 9” in the business books of a prostitution den known as “Emperors’ Club.”