Posts Tagged ‘ muslim ’

BAGHDAD — Millions of Iraqis voted in national elections on Sunday despite bomb and grenade attacks in a test of democracy and Iraq's ability to take over security from U.S. troops. Election observers said the most open and competitive election since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein went smoothly. People emerged smiling from polling stations with purple-stained fingers, the signature Iraqi method to prevent vote fraud, and said they hoped for a better future. “We have suffered from the security situation, the lack of jobs and poor basic services,” said Usra Abdullah, 48, in Baghdad. “If it means that I die while casting my vote then I die.” President Obama praised the Iraqis' stand against violence. “The Iraqi people have chosen to shape their future through the political process,” he said. Poll openings at 7 a.m. were met with numerous blasts. In an explosion near Sadr City, rescue workers said they could hear women and children under the debris screaming for help. The Interior Ministry said at least 35 people had died in the violence. Maj. Gen. Ahmed Assadi, an Iraqi army commander, said voters were undeterred. “Ninety-nine percent believe in the political process. We cannot and will not let the other 1 percent decide for us,” he said. Iraqis living in the U.S. also voted in six U.S. cities over the weekend. “Today is like Eid for me,” Haadi Al-Bagdadi, 48, of Dearborn, Mich., said after voting, referring to the Muslim holy day. His brother and three brothers-in-law were killed by the Hussein regime. The election comes nearly seven years after the U.S. invasion in 2003. A free and fair election plays into Obama's plan to withdraw 50,000 U.S. troops from Iraq in August — more than half of the 96,000 troops there. U.S. ambassador Christopher Hill said the implication of the vote was “enormous.” “If this goes well … and if the government formation goes well, this could usher in a whole new beginning for this country and also U.S. relations with Iraq,” he said while in a U.S. base in Tikrit. Voters on Sunday were choosing from 6,200 candidates for 325 seats in parliament who will select the next prime minister. Four coalitions of candidates were running. None was likely to gain a majority, which means the two top vote-getters may have to form a joint government. Results were not expected for several days, the Independent High Election Commission said. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was elected in 2005 largely from the support of Shiites, who are the majority in Iraq. Sunnis, who were the backbone of the Hussein regime, largely boycotted that election but appeared to be voting Sunday, according to the European Commission.

The rest is here: Iraqis vote, await 'new beginning'

A leading Muslim scholar with a large following in Britain Tuesday issued a fatwa — or Islamic religious ruling — condemning global terrorism and suicide bombings in a “direct challenge to al-Qaida’s violent ideology.”

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Muslim Scholar’s Fatwa Condemns Al-Qaida

U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson says five Muslim soldiers removed from active duty at South Carolina’s Fort Jackson were not involved in any plot to poison food at the base.

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US Rep: No Poison Food Plot at Army Base

Philippine troops arrested a suspected Muslim militant accused in the high-profile kidnappings of three Americans, two of whom were later killed, and dozens of Filipinos nine years ago, the military reported Friday.

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Militant Linked to US Kidnappings Nabbed

U.S. intelligence officials gave a mixed message on national security threats to a Senate committee on Tuesday: It is increasingly difficult for al-Qaida to carry out complex attacks against the U.S. and its interests, but radical, anti-American ideology continues to spread, and with it the chance of isolated attacks that are harder to predict and stop.“I cannot reassure you the danger is gone,” Dennis Blair, director of national intelligence, told the Senate Intelligence Committee.Al-Qaida, its associates and mimics “remain committed to striking the United States and U.S. interests,” Blair said. While carrying out coordinated, multi-cell attacks has become more difficult and Muslim support for violent extremism is declining, terrorist networks remain able to find lone recruits whose backgrounds make them unlikely suspects before they carry out attacks, he said.He cited the November shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, allegedly by a Muslim Army officer, and the Christmas Day attempt by an airline passenger to detonate explosives hidden in his underwear.“The tragic violence at Fort Hood last year underscores our concerns about the damage that even an individual or small number of homegrown extremists can do if they have the will and access,” said Blair, who appeared alongside the heads of the CIA, FBI and Defense Intelligence Agnecy.Blair reported that the Taliban insurgency and al-Qaida are both quite active in Afghanistan, presenting increasing danger and destabilization.“Insurgents have shown greater aggressiveness and undertaken more lethal tactics,” he said — something the so-called surge of U.S. troops is supposed to help staunch.On Afghanistan, U.S. strategy calls for quick training of the Afghan National Army and law enforcement to provide their own security so U.S. combat troops can withdraw, but Blair cited problems. A shortage of trainers and high absenteeism and attrition among Afghan forces “hamper efforts to make units capable of significant independent action,” he said.There are other risks as well. Corruption and the drug trade reduce public confidence in the Afghan government, and a lack of security leads to generally low competency and capability within the government, Blair said.In Iraq, Blair said al-Qaida appears to be suffering from financial troubles, difficulty recruiting new members, and rejection by many ordinary Iraqis. However, al-Qaida in Iraq “will remain committed to conducting attacks into the foreseeable future,” he said.

Continue reading here: Al-Qaida limping, but still dangerous

SAN ANTONIO — An Iraqi immigrant charged with falsely claiming to be the Fort Hood shooting suspect’s attorney has been released from federal custody, despite a prosecutor’s objection.Senan Kahtan Abrahem tried to visit Maj. Nidal Hasan at a San Antonio military hospital earlier this month, and he was indicted last week on a federal charge of making a false statement.During a bail hearing Monday, U.S. Magistrate Judge John Primomo released Abrahem on an unsecured bond after hearing he didn’t harm anyone and has resumed taking medication for his bipolar disorder, the San Antonio Express-News reported.But prosecutor Mark Roomberg, head of the national security/anti-terrorism section for the U.S. attorney’s office, had opposed Abrahem’s release, questioning his mental competence and saying Abrahem could threaten witnesses. Roomberg said Abrahem might flee because he faces deportation if convicted.Roomberg didn’t return messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.Hasan’s lawyer, John Galligan, said Abrahem has no connection to his client, who is charged with 13 counts of murder and 32 counts of premeditated murder in the November shooting at Fort Hood. He was paralyzed after being shot by Fort Hood police and remains at Brooke Army Medical Center.FBI counterterrorism and military intelligence agents testified that they investigated Abrahem after he shouted “Allah Akbar,” Arabic for “God is great,” and told officers to shoot him when they denied him access to Hasan.Before trying to visit Hasan, Abrahem left his car keys but not his car at a mosque as a donation and claimed he was going to free Hasan, Army counterintelligence agent Jeffrey Cram testified Monday.Abrahem visited the military hospital Jan. 6 claiming to be Hasan’s attorney, Cram said. After security officers denied him entry, he said, Abrahem became belligerent but eventually left.That night, San Antonio police went to his house and he again yelled “Allah akbar” and told officers to shoot him, Cram said.The officers took Abrahem to a hospital’s psychiatric ward after his wife said he had been off his medication for more than a month. Later, Abrahem told a doctor that he went to the military hospital “to free his Muslim brother,” Cram testified. Abrahem also made a beheading gesture to nurses and doctors, Cram said.Abrahem’s wife, Ruth Ann Davis, told the judge that Abrahem is a doctor but didn’t have his license to practice in the United States. The two married three years ago, and Abrahem recently obtained temporary resident status.“My husband is not a terrorist. He’s just a man who needs to be on his medicine,” Davis said after the hearing, declining further comment.

Read the original: Man who tried to visit Hood suspect released

ISLAMABAD — The Pakistani army said Thursday during a visit by Defense Secretary Robert Gates that it can’t launch any new offensives against militants for six months to a year to give it time to stabilize existing gains.The announcement probably comes as a disappointment to the U.S., which has pushed Pakistan to expand its military operations to target militants staging cross-border attacks against coalition troops in Afghanistan. Washington believes such action is critical to success in Afghanistan as it prepares to send an additional 30,000 troops to the country this year.But the comments by army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas clearly indicate Pakistan will not be pressured in the near term to expand its fight beyond militants waging war against the Pakistani state. Whether it can be convinced in the long term is still an open question.“We are not talking years,” Abbas told reporters traveling with Gates. “Six months to a year” would be needed before Pakistan could stabilize existing gains and expand any operations, he said.The Pakistani army launched a major ground offensive against the Pakistani Taliban’s main stronghold near the Afghan border in mid-October, triggering a wave of retaliatory violence across the country that has killed more than 600 people.The United States wants Pakistan to take on militants who use its border region as a safe home base for attacks on U.S. forces in Afghanistan, but Gates said he will not directly press his hosts.“I think they way I will approach it is simply to ask them what their plans are,” Gates said, adding that the United States has heard of plans to expand Pakistani military operations against militants in the border area of North Waziristan sometime later this year. “I’d like to explore those with them.”Pakistan should be given room to expand its military offensive against militants on its own terms and timetable, Gates said ahead of his talks with the country’s civilian and military leaders Thursday.Referring to intense political pressure in Washington to lean harder on Pakistan, Gates sounded sanguine.“As I try to remind Congress from time to time, and frankly some of the folks in the administration, it’s the Pakistanis who have their foot on the accelerator, not us,” Gates told reporters at the start of his two-day visit to Pakistan.The political pressure goes two ways. Suspicion of U.S. motives runs high in Pakistan, and many Pakistanis bristle as the notion that Washington could dictate the country’s priorities even with a recent promise of an unprecedented $1.5 billion in annual aid.“We have to do this in a way that is comfortable for them, and at a pace that they can accommodate and is tolerable for them,” Gates said. “Frankly, I’m comfortable doing that. I think having them set that pace as to what they think the political situation will bear is almost certainly the right thing to do.”He said he is well aware of what he called conspiracy theories about U.S. motives in Pakistan, calling them “nonsense.” He said the U.S. has no desire to take over control of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, occupy or split up the country, or divide the Muslim world.He also said his talks with Pakistan’s leaders were intended to explain the U.S. war strategy in Afghanistan and reassure Pakistan that the United States is “in this for the long haul.”But President Barack Obama’s comments in December that the U.S. would begin to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan in mid-2011 have raised questions among many Pakistani officials about Washington’s commitment.Analysts say such concerns only reinforce the Pakistani government’s reluctance to target the Afghan Taliban, as requested by the U.S. Pakistan has deep historical ties with the group, and many analysts believe some officials within the government and the military see the militants as an important proxy once coalition troops leave Afghanistan.Gates cautioned Pakistan against trying to distinguish between the different militant groups in an essay published Thursday in The News, an English-language Pakistani newspaper.“It is important to remember that the Pakistani Taliban operates in collusion with both the Taliban in Afghanistan and al-Qaida, so it is impossible to separate these groups,” Gates wrote.“Only by pressuring all of these groups on both sides of the border will Afghanistan and Pakistan be able to rid themselves of this scourge for good — to destroy those who promote the use of terror here and abroad,” Gates said.One of the goals of his trip, he said, is “a broader strategic dialogue — on the link between Afghanistan’s stability and Pakistan’s; stability in the broader region; the threat of extremism in Asia; efforts to reduce illicit drugs and their damaging global impact; and the importance of maritime security and cooperation.”Gates’ first meeting Thursday is with Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar. He also has separate meetings scheduled with Prime Minister Yousaf Reza Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari.———Associated Press Writer Sebastian Abbot contributed to this report.

Read this article: Pakistan army: No new offensive for 6-12 months

Two prominent Muslim scholars once accused of having ties to terrorism can reapply to travel to the United States now that the State Department has concluded they pose no danger to the country, federal spokesmen said Wednesday.

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Banned Muslim Scholars to Return to US

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand said Thursday that Biblical citations inscribed on U.S.-manufactured weapon sights used by New Zealand’s troops in Afghanistan will be removed, saying they are inappropriate and could stoke religious tensions.The inscriptions on products from defense contractor Trijicon of Wixom, Michigan, came to light this week in the U.S. where Army officials said Tuesday they would investigate whether the gun sights — also used by U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq — violate U.S. procurement laws.Australia also said Thursday its military used the sights and was now assessing what to do.Trijicon said it has had such inscriptions on its products for three decades and has never received complaints about them before. The inscriptions, which don’t include actual text from the Bible, refer numerically to passages from the book.New Zealand defense force spokesman Maj. Kristian Dunne said that Trijicon would be instructed to remove the inscriptions from further orders of the gun sights for New Zealand and that the letters would be removed from gun sights already in use by troops.“The inscriptions … put us in a difficult situation. We were unaware of it and we’re unhappy that the manufacturer didn’t give us any indication that these were on there,” Dunne said. “We deem them to be inappropriate.”The Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight rifle sights used by New Zealand troops, which allow them to pinpoint targets day or night, carried references to Bible verses that appeared in raised lettering at the end of the sight stock number.Markings included “JN8:12,” a reference to John 8:12: “Then spoke Jesus again unto them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life,’” according to the King James version of the Bible.The Trijicon Reflex sight is stamped with 2COR4:6, a reference to part of the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians: “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,” the King James version reads.Dunne said that New Zealand’s defense force has about 260 of the company’s gun sights, which were first bought in 2004, and will continue to use them once the inscriptions are removed because they are the best of their kind.New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said the government was not aware of the inscriptions when the defense force bought the equipment.“Now we are in discussions with the company in the United States who will ensure the inscriptions are removed, and we wouldn’t want them on future sights,” he told reporters.Earlier, Defense Minister Wayne Mapp said that with New Zealand soldiers in Muslim countries, the Bible references could be misconstrued.“We all know of the religious tensions around this issue and it’s unwise to do anything that could be seen to raise tensions in an unnecessary way,” he said.Trijicon said it has been longstanding company practice to put the Scripture citations on the equipment. Tom Munson, Trijicon’s director of sales and marketing, said the company had never received complaints until now.“We don’t publicize this,” Munson said in a recent interview. “It’s not something we make a big deal out of. But when asked, we say, ‘Yes, it’s there.’“Trijicon said biblical references were first put on the sites nearly 30 years ago by the company founder, Glyn Bindon, who was killed in a plane crash in 2003. His son Stephen, Trijicon’s president, continued the practice.The references have stoked concerns by critics in the U.S. about whether they break a government rule that bars proselytizing by American troops. But U.S. military officials said the citations don’t violate the ban and that they won’t stop using the tens of thousands of telescoping sights that have already been bought.The Australian Defense Department, which with 1,550 troops in Afghanistan is the largest contributor to that campaign outside NATO, said Thursday that it also used the sights but had been “unaware of the significance of the manufacturer’s serial number.”“The Department of Defense is very conscious of the sensitivities associated with this issue and is assessing how to address these as soon as practicable,” the department said in a statement. Let us know your thoughts on the scopes

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A predominance of Christians in the Air Force creates an atmosphere that assumes all airmen are Christians, allowing prayers and other religious displays at everything from football games and holiday parties to commander’s calls and change-of-command ceremonies, according to non-Christian airmen interviewed by Air Force Times.Still, the instances of overt religious intolerance are few, and the general acceptance of those who practice other faiths is good, the airmen agreed.Religion in the service attracted renewed attention in November after an Army psychiatrist allegedly opened fire inside a soldier readiness center at Fort Hood, Texas, killing 13 and wounding 32. The suspected shooter, Maj. Nidal Hasan, is a Muslim and had made it known that he was disturbed by the wars being fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the vast majority of the populations practice Islam.“I really believe that the Air Force and the military generally do a very good job of fostering tolerance,” said Capt. Omar Ashmawy, a judge advocate in the Air Force Reserve and one of about 700 self-identified Muslims in the service.Hostility, though, is “right below the surface,” Ashmawy said. “And [after] an event like Fort Hood … people who are inclined to discriminate against Muslims will do it.”The subject of religious bias came to the forefront for the Air Force five years ago when non-Christian cadets at the Air Force Academy reported being harassed by Christian counterparts and feeling ostracized because they were not religious.Last month, the academy superintendent, Lt. Gen. Michael Gould, issued a positive progress report — endorsed by one of its most vocal critics — citing the creation of a Cadet Interfaith Council, which helps identify upcoming religious holidays so scheduling conflicts can be avoided and meets with chaplains monthly to discuss the religious climate.“This is the first time we feel positive about things there,” said Mikey Weinstein, founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which battled the academy in court over claims that evangelicals at the school were imposing their views on others.Servicewide, about 80 percent of airmen in 2008 identified themselves as Christians to the Defense Manpower Data Center. Nearly 17 percent gave no religious preference, and about 3 percent listed non-Christian faiths. Less than 1 percent — 0.68 — said they considered themselves atheists, those who do not believe in God or any deity.By comparison, 76 percent of the U.S. population told the Census Bureau that they practice Christianity. Roughly 13 percent stated no religious preference, and about 10 percent identified themselves as religious but not Christian. Again, less than 1 percent — 0.71 — listed themselves as nonbelievers.In the Air Force, Wicca — witchcraft — is the largest non-Christian faith, with 1,434 followers. The breakdown of other religious minorities: 1,271 Buddhists, 1,148 Jews, 678 Muslims and 190 Hindus.Public eventsThe atmosphere that non-Christian airmen mentioned to Air Force Times manifests itself most often at public events — invocations, Christmas carols and the like.“The Air Force is laced with inappropriate religious display at commander’s calls, military formations and holiday gatherings,” according to an e-mail from a former airman and current civilian employee at McChord Air Force Base, Wash., who did not want to be identified for privacy reasons. “Airmen are force-fed religious jargon.“I had many superiors over the years that were religious, and a few openly carried Bibles at work,” the former airman said. “Had they known I am agnostic, it would, I am sure, have affected their views of my annual performance ratings.”A Wiccan airman said the displays are a tacit endorsement of Christianity and a subtle form of intolerance and exclusion.“I don’t find the Air Force to have any improved tolerance of non-Christian religions,” said the airman, who also did not want to talk on the record. “What you practice on your own time is your business, but to have your nose constantly rubbed in one religion is getting plain ridiculous.”For Ashmawy, the Reserve judge advocate, the issue isn’t overt discrimination or proselytizing, but the lack of inclusion of non-Christians.“God in the military is almost exclusively Jesus,” he said.Private encountersDespite the public events, the non-Christian airmen reported they seldom come across overt intolerance one-on-one. Those rare occasions shock and hurt, nonetheless.Ashmawy wrote a commentary for Air Force News shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks and received a deluge of e-mails and letters about it.“The response to that piece was about 90 percent overwhelmingly positive, from all over the Air Force,” he said. But “10 percent, ranging from airmen to colonels, sent me hate mail — e-mails telling me I’m deluded, I’m against God, I’m not an American, I’m a traitor. … That was my first real bad experience in the military.”Another Muslim airman reported generally being treated well but occasionally experiencing hostility.“There are always those that hear ‘Muslim’ and instantly go rigid,” said the staff sergeant, who also asked to not be identified for privacy reasons. “I mean, it’s a visible, physical reaction. … The spine turns into a fence post, and you get the double take. … [But] these are just personal reactions from individuals, [and] I can honestly say that I have never been impacted professionally because of my religion.”The Wiccan airman has stopped talking to other airmen about religion because of the negative reactions.“The most common inconsiderate comment I get is that I must worship the devil or that I must be a hippie tree-hugger,” the airman said. “Now, I just don’t say anything. It gets old listening to the ignorance that spews from people’s mouths.”

Original post: Respect healthy for different faiths