Palestine conference kicks off in Tehran

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has called on Muslims across the globe to fulfill their obligations and pledge solid support for the Palestinians and their cause in the campaign against the Zionist regime. “A strongly held belief is that the Palestinian resistance must be properly encouraged. The Islamic Republic of Iran regards supporting the Palestinian nation’s struggle against the Zionist enemy as a matter of ideology and duty, so it strives to honor it,” Mottaki said in an address to the Conference on National and Islamic Solidarity for the Future of Palestine, which was held in Tehran on Saturday.

Carter wants Hamas off US terror list

Former US President Jimmy Carter has advised the Obama administration against keeping the Hamas resistance movement on its list of terror organizations.  Carter, who was in the Gaza Strip to meet rulers of the area, says he will meet with officials in the Obama administration in two days to discuss his latest trip to the Middle East.

Hamas and democracy in Palestine

By: Esfandiar Khodaee

Hamas really represents the Palestine nation in a clear democratic way. Nobody can deny the fact that Hamas democratically won the public election about two years ago. Yet the UN and the west and even some Arab nations do not make any political relations with Hamas.

Hamas and Palestinian people have experienced loneliness for 60 years. Now and in the 22 day war they learnt the great fact that the key of their victory is in their own hand. And they should depend on themselves and their own resistance not the timid Arab governments or the United Nation.

The Problem With HAMAS

The problem with HAMAS is testosterone and a memory for events of some 60 years ago. It is difficult for a race of testosterone bearing people to forget land-theft. It is difficult for a race of testosterone bearing people to forget genocide. And right there in the Middle East, practically standing shoulder to shoulder are people who have experienced both.

Chased from Europe by genocide, testosterone bearing people settled in Palestine in the mist of a different race of testosterone bearing people. That, of course, is a catalyst for war. One group had the assistance of the United Nations. The other group did not. From this explosive mixture, came the birth of a country called Israel and the start of a very long terrorist “war”.

Jewish extremists attempt pogrom against Arabs in Akka…

From Khalid Amayreh in Occupied East Jerusalem
9 October, 2008
Hundreds of religious Jewish extremists and hooligans laid siege to and assaulted an Arab family home in downtown Akka Wednesday night, triggering widespread riots in the mixed Arab-Jewish coastal city in northern Palestine/Israel. The Jews accused the Arab family of “violating the sanctity of Yom Kippur” by way of driving their car. Eyewitnesses and police sources reported that dozens of vehicles and businesses were damaged after police forces violently repressed hundreds of local Arab youths who had attempted to free the besieged Arab family.

‘India should play a role in Middle East Peace process’

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said that India, the biggest democracy with a booming economy, could play an important role in Middle East peace process….

A seminar about “the Many Faces of Political Islam”

Seminar
Series: Initiative on Religion in International Affairs Event
Open to the Public – Harvard Kennedy School Campus
October 22, 2008
11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Add to Outlook | Add to Google Calendar | Add to Yahoo Calendar

 

Related Project: Religion in International Affairs

Description:

Dr. Mohammed Ayoob will discuss the major themes of his recent book on the diverse manifestations of Islam and its impact on global politics. This seminar will take place on Wednesday, October 22, from 11:30am to 1:00pm in Taubman 401. Lunch will be provided.

Dr. Ayoob is University Distinguished Professor of International Relations with a joint appointment in James Madison College and the Department of Political Science at Michigan State University. He is also Coordinator of the Muslim Studies Program at Michigan State University.

Contact:

Project on India and the Subcontinent Events Coordinator
79 JFK Street Cambridge, MA 02140
Email: meghan_tinsley@ksg.harvard.edu

Middle East flags and presidents pictures

Asia to become economic powerhouse by next decade

Islamabad: Pakistan Economy Watch has said that only regional cooperation can provide relief to 50 crore poor living in South Asia. Political differences, if set aside, will spur new era of growth and Pakistan will reap dividends as Asia will be world’s centre of economic activity by next decade.

Pakistan will be world’s leader in textile and banking
Pakistan needs to avail this chance and initiate preparation as we have missed many opportunities in past, Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President, Pakistan Economy Watch said. “No doubt that Pakistan will be world’s leader in textiles and banking,” he added. He said 500 million people are living below poverty line in South Asia and their plight will only end if region can grow at a rate of eight per cent which is only possible in presence of enhanced regional trade.

Why Israeli settlers are lashing out

When Yaron Ezrahi was a young political science professor in 1983, his star student was Emil Grunzweig, who had just completed his thesis on free speech. Two days later, Mr. Grunzweig was killed at a peace rally here, when a right-wing activist threw a hand grenade into a crowd of people demonstrating against Israel’s involvement in the war in Lebanon. Today, Dr. Ezrahi sees a resurgence of the same blend of violence and lawlessness that took the life of

Islamic beliefs honor Women

Los Angeles District

Have you ever walked through a mall and seen a woman with a veil covering her hair? What crossed your mind? Did you think she was one of the many wives of a rich Saudi Arabian oil sheik? Did you feel sympathy for her because some man forced her to dress that way? Or did you shrug your shoulders and decide it was just one of life’s mysteries? The veiled women are Muslims who have adopted the Islamic dress code for modesty. Islam is one of the world’s largest monotheistic (belief in one God) religions. Almost one billion people in 40 countries are Muslims, with Arabs less than 20 percent of the total.
Contrary to popular belief, women and men are regarded as equal in Islam, but with different responsibilities. This difference, however, doesn’t mean women can’t undertake similar tasks or responsibilities. A woman is recognized as an independent individual entitled to work, own a business, obtain an education, and participate in government .In fact…

The Middle East’s Water Crisis: Will the Jordan River Run Dry?

The River Jordan has flowed freely for thousands of years, its name immortalized in the Hebrew Bible and its lush upper reaches once known as the gates to the Garden of Eden. This summer, however, large sections of this storied river were reduced to a trickle, the water so low that grass fires spread freely across the Jordan Valley between Palestine and Jordan. Steadily drained over the past half century to quench the thirst and grow the crops of the people of Israel, Jordan, Syria, and the Palestinian territories, the Jordan River has been dealt a deathblow recently by a severe drought and by yet another tributary dam, this one on the Jordanian-Syrian border.

Modernisation of Islam the only way to the victory for Muslims

MUSTAFA AKYOL, contributing author to www.WauBebas.org, is a Turkish columnist based in Istanbul.

Not long ago I ran into a quote from Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Egyptian Muslim scholar and Al-Jazeera televangelist, in Turkey’s controversial Islamist daily . The 80-year-old cleric was saying, “Victory is only possible by returning to Islam.”

DubaiSat-1 ready for space launch

The UAE’s first earth observation satellite has been developed by SatrecI in South Korea with in depth participation of UAE engineers from the EIAST and is ‘space ready’ according to an official in Dubai.

Dubai Sat-1 will provide the UAE with its first dedicated Eye in the Sky, and now awaits its launch later this year onboard a Russian Rocket through the Moscow-based International Space Company (ISC) Kosmotras.

Designed and developed by a dedicated team and built in collaboration with international entities, DubaiSat 1 will be one of the most advanced small size satellite of its kind when it is launched at the end of this year.

Democracy meets moderate Islamists wishes

A quick look at the Islamic countries reveals the fact that moderate Islam coordinates democratic values. In fact if democracy establishes in these countries, moderate Islamists will gain more than anybody else. They will receive the freedom of activities and get ride of cruel dictators which limits their freedom. here is more concrete examples:
In Egypt if a free and just election happens, moderate Islamists will surely achieve at least their minimum rights. Maybe they can win majority of seats of parliament.
In Turkey the situation of Islamists is better. Any time that a free election is performed the winner is an Islamic party like Adalat, Fazilat and Refah. And whenever the military forces prevent free election, the Islamists stand in weaker position.
In Pakistan if general Mosharaf issue the permission of a really free election Islamists will gain more benefits and the freedom of activity.
In Europe Moslems gain a lot of the democratic atmosphere and whenever an undemocratic decision”n like the laws against Hijab” is taken, Islamist will lose more than any body else.
Who is against democracy in Islamic countries?
1- The dictator rulers who feel unsafe about free democracy. They know that in a free democratic election they won’t win.
2- The United States of America! It is surprising if one says that the U.S.A is always at the side of dictators and stands against democracy in Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran and any other Islamic country.