:: EsinIslam English Media For News, Forums, Blogs, Audios, Videos, Newspapers, Magazines, News Articles, Fatwas And Islamic Rulings

English Forum

You Shouldn't Have To 'Dress Up As A Muslim' To Understand That I
(Story in Full... | 4489 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Muslim women particularly have long been categorised as a uniform group. We are presented as a collective, when in actual fact we are not. Not all of us wear abayas. Not all of us wear a hijab. Not all of us speak Arabic

Sabbiyah Pervez

Brown contact lenses, a prosthetic more Asian looking nose, complexion darkening make up, a hijab and some Arabic words. Five things you need to complete your Muslim woman Halloween Costume.

According to a new Channel 4 documentary, this is all that is required to go "undercover as a Muslim." Apparently this reverse White Chicks transformation allows an individual to "walk in the shoes of someone from a different background and what it is like to be a part of the British Pakistani Muslim community rather than just observe as an outsider."

Allow me to break something down for you. Especially for those of you sitting at the back, who suffer from tunnel vision and selective hearing.

Muslims come in all shapes, sizes and colours. A toddler will probably be able to grasp that notion. To be a Muslim, it means you subscribe to a faith - Islam. Islam is a faith that is not limited nor restricted to race or ethnicity. There are roughly around 1.8 billion Muslims in the world. Here in our glorious nation, there are roughly about 2.8 million Muslims, and the largest group is of Pakistani or Bangladeshi heritage. Smaller groups include Turks, Arabs and Africans.

(Story in Full... | 4489 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

The Options Of The War With Iran
(Story in Full... | 4793 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 5)

The Options Of The War With Iran

By Abdulrahman Al-Rashed

The fronts of confrontation with Iran and its main allies are increasing. The ballistic missile that the Houthis launched against the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh is a dangerous military development that cannot be separated from the regional conflict with Iran in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. Diplomacy has failed due to Iran's ongoing refusal to withdraw its forces and militias from Syria. It had previously refused to withdraw from Iraq, where it is operating militarily. The latest of these operations is the advance on the Kurdistan region.

Iran is a remotely running the battles in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. The countries in the region, as well as the United States, have failed in adopting a suitable policy that can confront Iran's expansionist strategy in the region. The Americans, who have incurred repeated losses in bombings and "Hezbollah" assassinations, have sufficed in confronting the proxy itself through kidnapping or assassinating collaborators or members of the party. Egypt and Arab Gulf countries have also made due with the policy of adopting political and economic measures against "Hezbollah."

(Story in Full... | 4793 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 5)

Balfour Declaration: Britain Broke Its Feeble Promise To The Palestinians
(Story in Full... | 6193 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Balfour Declaration: Britain Broke Its Feeble Promise To The Palestinians

By Jonathan Cook

There is more than a little irony in Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to attend a "celebration" dinner this week in London with his British counterpart, Theresa May, marking the centenary of the Balfour Declaration.

Palestinian objections to the 1917 document are well-known. Britain's Lord Balfour had no right to promise a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, on the land of another people.

But Israelis have been taught a different history in which they, not the Palestinians, were betrayed.

In 1939, Britain appeared to revoke its pledge, stating "unequivocally" that it would not establish a Jewish state in Palestine. Limits on Jewish immigration were imposed, at a time when Europe's Jews were fleeing the Nazi Holocaust.

(Story in Full... | 6193 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Don't Let Iranian President Hassan Rouhani Trick You - He's No Moderat
(Story in Full... | 4260 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Don't Let Iranian President Hassan Rouhani Trick You - He's No Moderate

By Amir Basiri, The Washington Examiner

In October, Hassan Rouhani , the Iranian regime's president, reiterated that Tehran will continue to develop ballistic missiles, defying the latest round of Congress-approved sanctions against Iran's ballistic missile program and a U.N. resolution calling on Iran "not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons."

This bit of news might come as a disappointment to those who view Rouhani as the "moderate" leader the U.S. and the international community should back against "hardliners" in Iran. But it won't surprise those who know the true nature that governs all the factions that compete within the theocratic regime ruling Iran.

Rouhani made deceptive claims and promises before May's presidential elections to strengthen his bid and portray himself as being at odds with the Revolutionary Guards. The IRGC, the notorious military body that only reports to Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran's unelected Supreme Leader, was designated as a terrorist organization by the Trump administration last month.

(Story in Full... | 4260 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Missile Attack On Riyadh 'An Act Of War' By Iran
(Story in Full... | 5900 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Missile Attack On Riyadh 'An Act Of War' By Iran

By Siraj Wahab

A Houthi missile fired at Riyadh may be considered an act of war by Iran, and Saudi Arabia will not tolerate any infringement of its national security, senior Saudi officials said on Monday.

"The Kingdom reserves the right to respond in a timely manner to the hostile actions of the Iranian regime," Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said.

"Iranian interventions in the region are detrimental to the security of neighboring countries and affect international peace and security. We will not allow any infringement of our national security."

Iran supplied the ballistic missile fired into Saudi Arabia on Saturday night by Houthi rebels in Yemen. Saudi defense forces intercepted the missile and shot it down over King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh, and there were no casualties.

(Story in Full... | 5900 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Tell MAMA: Most Islamophobic Attackers Are White Men
(Story in Full... | 7467 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 5)

By Aina Khan, Al Jazeera

Anti-Muslim attacks in the UK rose 47 percent in 2016 compared with the previous year, according to a new report released by Tell MAMA, a hate crime monitor.

The attacks were largely levelled at Muslim women - 56 percent of victims of 642 incidents were female. Sixty-six percent of perpetrators were male, and 69 percent were white men. Victims came from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.

Although not all Muslim women wear clothing that identifies them as followers of the Islamic faith, those who don the headscarf, face veil, robe and other garments are disproportionately targeted of gendered Islamophobia, said the report, which was released on Thursday.

Coming from an ethnic minority background, being female and Muslim has created a brand of Islamophobia with an "intersectional nature", crossing boundaries of gender, race and religion, Tell MAMA said.

In the week following the EU referendum vote, the charity reported a 475 percent spike in anti-Muslim attacks, a jump also witnessed after the Tower Bridge attacks.

(Story in Full... | 7467 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 5)

Saudi Arabia Wants To Be Top Tourism Destination For Muslim Travelers
(Story in Full... | 3959 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Saudi Arabia Wants To Be Top Tourism Destination For Muslim Travelers

Alicia Buller

Saudi Arabia wants to be the top global destination for Muslim tourists by the end of the decade according to a top official.

It comes amid a massive push to develop the Kingdom's Red Sea coastline and maximize tourism spending among the millions of Muslims who already visit the Kingdom each year as part of Hajj and Umrah.

"We want to beat Dubai, Malaysia and Turkey to the top spot," said a senior official at the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCNH) in an interview on the sidelines of the World Travel Market in London.

"We have different projects in the pipeline and we are developing our pilgrimage sites. We are opening up our historical sites, we have five UNESCO sites and we are aiming to have 10 by 2020.

"We have everything in Saudi. Our history gives us competitive advantage. We have a beautiful natural landscape and thousands of years of Islamic and pre-Islamic history. We are open to all," said the spokesman.

"For Muslims, we have the advantage that everything is already halal here."

(Story in Full... | 3959 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Islamic Emirate Of Afghanistan: Intelligence Ploys of the Enemy, a Sign of their
(Story in Full... | 7424 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Islamic Emirate Of Afghanistan: Intelligence Ploys of the Enemy, a Sign of their Despair and Failure

By Al-Ikhwah Al-Mujahidun

Whenever officials of the Kabul stooge administration and the invaders face despair in the battle field, they resort to surreptitious gimmicks. For them such gimmicks have become a sort of routine order of the day through which they are trying to hide their failure and boost morale of their sagging soldiers if minimally. To this end, they once again resorted to creating anxiety among the Afghan Muslim nation and the Mujahideen with espionage lies a few days ago.

You may have seen that multiple western-linked media outlets reported that some leaders of the Islamic Emirate are making efforts to obtain asylum in other countries. This is an utterly baseless allegation. Generally, the intelligence circles of the stooge administration launch such intelligence ploys under one title every once or twice per month. Later media outlets created by the West systematically harps on them to blow it out of proportion. It is now part and parcel of the new strategy of the invaders or in other words, telling lies against Mujahideen and publishing distorted information against them is the official policy of the invaders and their stooges. Surely,our respected readers will witness such espionage conspiracies in the future as well. However, these efforts have neither contributed to their success on the ground nor in the field of media because every time after a short period, their allegations and propaganda prove to be futile and false. The Afghan nation and the world have experienced and seen their baseless propaganda with their own eyes time.

(Story in Full... | 7424 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

OIC Calls For Urgent Action To Save Remaining Islamic Cultural Heritage
(Story in Full... | 5451 Bytes More | 1 Comment | Your Score On Story: 0)

OIC Calls For Urgent Action To Save Remaining Islamic Cultural Heritage

EsinIslam And Agencies

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) recently called on member countries for urgent action and appropriate ways of protecting the remaining Islamic cultural heritage against loss and neglect.

OIC Secretary-General Dr. Yousef bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen made the call during an international conference on "Islamic Action for the Protection of Cultural Heritage" held in Istanbul, Turkey, November 1-2.

In his address, delivered by Mehla Ahmed Talebna, OIC general director of cultural, social and family affairs, Al-Othaimeen also called for adapting these ways through international initiatives and mechanisms for cultural heritage preservation as a whole, and to save and restore endangered heritage in Islamic countries.

He called on participants to develop cultural policies and plans on cultural heritage protection for adoption at the 10th Conference of Ministers of Culture to be organized by the Islamic, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) in Khartoum, Sudan, on November 21-23.

(Story in Full... | 5451 Bytes More | 1 Comment | Your Score On Story: 0)

What The Helicopter Accident Tells Us About Saudi Arabia
(Story in Full... | 6117 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

What The Helicopter Accident Tells Us About Saudi Arabia

By Emre Gönen

News has been pouring in with unexpected speed and importance: Dozens of high-ranking officials have been sacked, a ballistic missile was fired upon Riyadh from Yemen unsuccessfully, and it was the first attack over the Saudi Arabia capital.

A Saudi helicopter crashed near the kingdom's southern border with Yemen. The accident claimed the lives of a dozen high-ranking administrators, including the son of the former intelligence chief and Crown Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, who is second in line for the succession of King Salman. He probably won't keep this status for a very long time in the huge Saudi royal family with its complex network of competing factions. His son, Prince Mansour bin Muqren, who lost his life in the helicopter accident, was the deputy governor of the Asir province.

(Story in Full... | 6117 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

The Iran Deal: The Dog's Dinner Obama Dished Out
(Story in Full... | 7186 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

The Iran Deal: The Dog's Dinner Obama Dished Out

By Amir Taheri

"Trump violates international treaty!" "Trump tears up pact signed by world powers!"

These were some of the headlines that pretended to report US President Donald Trump's move on the "Iran nuclear deal" last week. Some in the Western media even claimed that the move would complicate the task of curbing North Korea as Pyongyang might conclude that reaching any deal with the world powers, as Iran did, is useless.

But what is it exactly that Trump has done?

Before answering that question let's deal with another question. Is Obama's Iran "deal" a treaty?

The answer is: no.

It is, as Tehran says "a roadmap" in which Iran promises to take some steps in exchange for "big powers" reciprocating by taking some steps of their own.

Even then, the "roadmap" or "wish-list" as former US Secretary of State John Kerry described it, does not have an authoritative text; it comes in five different versions, three in Persian and two in English, with many differences.

(Story in Full... | 7186 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Nigerian Politics: Osun's Gospel Of Parliamentary Democracy
(Story in Full... | 6623 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Nigerian Politics: Osun's Gospel Of Parliamentary Democracy

By Abiodun Komolafe

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, local government elections will hold in Osun State on January 27, 2018. At least, 332 councillorship slots will be up for grabs in an election scheduled to be the first of its kind in the life of the Rauf Aregbesola-led administration. Not only that, it will be the first in the history of the Fourth Republic that parliamentary practice will be given a shot at the local government level.

While some professional doubters may wish to liken Osun to an administrative jungle where laws are brazenly breached and, constitutionalism, flagrantly abused, Section 22 of the Local Government (Administration) Law Cap 72A, Vol. 4, Laws of Osun State 2002 as amended states as follows: "There shall be for each local government a chairman and a vice chairman who shall be elected by the councillors of the Local Government Council from among themselves. The chairman and vice chairman shall only be elected among the councillors of the political party that has majority seat in the Local Government Council." So, why parliamentary system in Osun?

By the way, what does Aregbesola stand to gain by daring to walk with clear conviction where even angels dare to tread and what roles does has the "inchoate" problem associated with local government creation in Nigeria {ref: Supreme Court's judgement in AG Lagos v AG Federation (2004) 20 NSCQLR 99A} got to play in all of these?

(Story in Full... | 6623 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

The Real Reasons Trump Is Quitting Unesco
(Story in Full... | 5926 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

The Real Reasons Trump Is Quitting Unesco

By Jonathan Cook in Nazareth

At first glance, the decision last week by the Trump administration, followed immediately by Israel, to quit the United Nation's cultural agency seems strange. Why penalise a body that promotes clean water, literacy, heritage preservation and women's rights?

Washington's claim that the UN's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) is biased against Israel obscures the real crimes the agency has committed in US eyes.

The first is that in 2011 Unesco became the first UN agency to accept Palestine as a member. That set the Palestinians on the path to upgrading their status at the General Assembly a year later.

It should be recalled that in 1993, as Israel and the Palestinians signed the Oslo accords on the White House lawn, the watching world assumed the aim was to create a Palestinian state.

(Story in Full... | 5926 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

America to Rethink of its Role in Global Affairs
(Story in Full... | 11482 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

America to Rethink of its Role in Global Affairs

By Mahboob A Khawaja

America under President Trump continues to foster an agenda of extreme perplexity, triviality and confusion in dealing with urgent global affairs. If the administration were to learn from the history, it must be candid, focused and redirect its strengths and weaknesses from the past and usher a new strategic direction of change and adaptability to the present and futuristic challenges of collaborative understanding with all the global powers. This should include the conflict in Syria, Iran nuclear deal, agreement on climate change and pursuing a balanced approach to Israel-Palestine issues.

How to Comprehend the Contradictions of the US Policy Behavior?

Lacking the visionary leadership, President Obama lost precious time and opportunities to deliver "Yes, We Can." Now, President Trump is making headlines with inherent stagnation of inner look on the current global affairs. Every day is becoming a strange new media theater of absurdity, not distinguishing between the problems and solutions. American politics endured wide range of human, intellectual, political and material losses because of the wrong thinking, wrong actions and dubious performance of the former Obama and Bush administrations. The war agenda destroyed America's capacity and credibility as an influential global power. The perpetrators of prolonged war agenda floating above the normal mindset must be abnormal - insane - irresponsible, utterly individualistic paranoid to make such move on behalf of the people who elected them for change and peacemaking.

(Story in Full... | 11482 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Pakistani And Asian Journal: Which Islam Are We Talking About?
(Story in Full... | 11038 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

By Saeed Qureshi

I am not an Islamic scholar but I can quote three Suras from Quran that explicitly emphasize Muslims all over the world as one united and monolithic fraternity. In one Sura it is stated that "all the Muslim believers are brothers"

In another Ayah it is ordained to "hold fast to the rope of Allah and not to fall into divisions or sects". Yet in another Ayah it is decreed that to kill a human being is to kill the entire humanity. There should be another one that stipulates that a Muslim cannot kill a fellow Muslim believer.

The above quoted Suras and their contents look frivolous and useless when we delve into the history of Muslims and also look around us in the present times. Ever since the demise of the holy prophet Muhammad (SAWS) some 1475 years ago, the Muslims have been killing fellow Muslims on racial, regional and sectarian grounds. Banu Hashim the clans of Prophet Muhammad were sidelined by the shrewder Umayyads who took the reins of the caliphate barely after 30 years or so. Three caliphs died at the hand of the assassins.

(Story in Full... | 11038 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Discovering the Secret Republic of Iran
(Story in Full... | 4032 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Discovering the Secret Republic of Iran

By Abdulrahman Al-Rashed

We all understand Iran, the regime with the ambition to dominate and gain influence. However, in fact we do not really know it. To Iran, the end justifies the means: from selling cigarettes to counterfeiting currencies, dealing drugs, money laundering, collecting Khums tax and using it for military purposes, establishing complex networks of companies in Africa, Latin America and Asia and sending clerics seeking loyalties from fighting coaches who train on weapons.

These are the secret activities of the Iranian empire, which tries to exploit everything it puts its hand on to serve its aims. It's through these cells and secret smuggling networks that it built and continues to build its nuclear program.

Although propagating disputes is its official hobby, Iran does not fight with its own troops. The last war the Iranian armed forces fought was against Iraq and it ended in 1988. During that war, the new Iranian regime sent whatever forces were left of the defeated Shah and got rid of them.

(Story in Full... | 4032 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

How Kurdish Independence Underpins Israel's Plan To Reshape The Middle East
(Story in Full... | 6085 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

How Kurdish Independence Underpins Israel's Plan To Reshape The Middle East

By Jonathan Cook in Nazareth

Palestinians and Israelis watched last week's referendum of Iraq's Kurds with special interest. Israeli officials and many ordinary Palestinians were delighted - for very different reasons - to see an overwhelming vote to split away from Iraq.

Given the backlash from Baghdad and anger from Iran and Turkey, which have restive Kurdish minorities, the creation of a Kurdistan in northern Iraq may not happen soon.

Palestinian support for the Kurds is not difficult to understand. Palestinians, too, were overlooked when Britain and France carved up the Middle East into states a century ago. Like the Kurds, Palestinians have found themselves trapped in different territories, oppressed by their overlords.

Israel's complex interests in Kurdish independence are harder to unravel.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the sole world leader to back Kurdish independence, and other politicians spoke of the Kurds' "moral right" to a state. None saw how uneasily that sat with their approach to the Palestinian case.

(Story in Full... | 6085 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Katibat Ali Sultan: Syrian Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC Gr
(Story in Full... | 5436 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Katibat Ali Sultan: Syrian Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC Group

By Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi

Previously I have written on Liwa al-Mukhtar al-Thiqfi, a small group deployed at the time I wrote the article to Latakia province, under the leadership of one al-Hajj Mukhtar and asserting direct affiliation with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Katibat Ali Sultan (The Ali Sultan Battalion) similarly claims affiliation with the IRGC but has an even lower social media profile.

I first came across Katibat Ali Sultan in some posts by one Samih Zahr al-Din, a Druze member of the group who clearly still identifies as Druze and is originally from the predominantly Druze province of Suwayda' in southern Syria. For example, in a post dated 7 March 2017, he wrote:

"Katibat Ali Sultan rapid intervention squadron, to support the Syrian army's 15th division in Deraa and resist the attack that Jabhat al-Nusra and the armed factions have undertaken in Deraa al-Manshiya [neighbourhood]."

For context, al-Manshiya is a neighbourhood in Deraa city. Fighting between the regime and rebels has taken place in al-Manshiya over the course of 2017. The 313 Force, a Syrian 'Islamic Resistance' group, similarly deployed to al-Manshiya in early 2017 to support the regime's forces.

(Story in Full... | 5436 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Pakistani Politics: Bilawal Bhutto Is Too Naive To Lead PPP
(Story in Full... | 8031 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Pakistani Politics: Bilawal Bhutto Is Too Naive To Lead PPP

By Saeed Qureshi

The political parties in Pakistan are like family fiefdoms that keep ruling and delving in the arena of politics and power as long as they can hold on. There are scores of political parties in Pakistan and it is seldom that they are headed or presided over by someone who was not from the founders' clan.

In Pakistan, the tradition of electing the head of a political party has been invariably nonexistent. Even if the elections within the parties are held, a person from the family of the founders' wins. There could be exceptions as in case of Jamaat-e-Islami or the Awami National Party.

Presently there are five main political parties in Pakistan. Besides there are 31 regional or minor parties. These five main political parties are PML (Nawaz Sharif), PTI (Imran Khan), PPP (Bilawal Bhutto), Awami National Party (Asfandyar Wali Khan) and Pakistan Awami Tehrik (Muhammad Tahirul Qadri). All these are being run by the founders or the family of the founders. It shows that these parties don't hold party elections to elect a more senior or deserving person if not related to the founder or his clan.

(Story in Full... | 8031 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Giving A Voice To The Voiceless: The 'Invisible' Victims Of Islamophob
(Story in Full... | 5601 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Giving A Voice To The Voiceless: The 'Invisible' Victims Of Islamophobia

A recent study on hate crime revealed an escalation of violence against non-Muslim British men when they are perceived to look 'like a Muslim'

Imran Awan

In August 2016, six teenage boys were arrested in Harlow, Essex, after Polish immigrant Arkadiusz Jóźwik died following a brutal street attack which his brother said began after he was heard speaking Polish on the street.

The decision to leave the EU in some cases emboldened people to express their feelings of hate and "legitimised" the prejudice that they had by empowering them to express and verbalise those feelings.

An escalation of violence

As part of hate crime awareness week, I was in Parliament this week to discuss the impact of such hate crimes upon non-Muslim British men and the rise in trigger events that lead to an escalation of violence against them. Research has shown that victims of hate crime internalise the experience, so much so that it becomes "normalised".

The types of hate they experienced included being targeted in public spaces such as shopping centres, on the train and in car parks.

*Amit, a hate crime victim, told us that:

(Story in Full... | 5601 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

How They See Us: Sophia The Saudi Robot That Gets Saudi Citizenship Before Kafal
(Story in Full... | 5047 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

How They See Us: Sophia The Saudi Robot That Gets Saudi Citizenship Before Kafala Workers

By Tariq A. Al-Maeena

Irrespective of the fact that we became the first country to grant citizenship to a robot, the fact remains that we are not immune to criticism from different quarters for the best of our intentions. Sophia, the Saudi robot, became the target of many long-term residents and sons and daughters of Saudi mothers who felt annoyed that citizenship was granted to an artificial being.

"This robot has gotten Saudi citizenship before kafala workers who have been living in the country their entire lives," said a foreign journalist. A Saudi mother was upset that her children remained without their mother's nationality while "something made of metal and wires has more privileges to call this place home." And a Lebanese journalist, Kareem Chahayeb, chimed in that "A humanoid robot called Sophia got Saudi citizenship, while millions linger stateless. What a time to be alive." The robot will undoubtedly be the subject of debate for some time to come.

Moving on, for months now I have been observing the progress of a villa being built very close to mine. I couldn't help it. I had to navigate through treacherous terrain of wood beams, cement blocks and metal rods and every other imaginable roadblock to get to my place.

(Story in Full... | 5047 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Amaq News and Claims of Responsibility
(Story in Full... | 3367 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

By Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi

Understandably, there has been widespread disbelief on social media regarding the claim published by the Islamic State's Amaq News that the Las Vegas attacker was a "soldier of the Islamic State" (i.e. inspired by Islamic State to carry out the attack). Probably anticipating or responding to the disbelief, Amaq News released a follow-up post saying the attacker had embraced Islam months ago. Amaq News only purported to rely on "a security source." In this context, "security" refers to the carrying out of operations inside enemy territory. Thus, any Islamic State-directed or Islamic State-inspired attack inside the U.S., which is leading the coalition against Islamic State, would come under this category.

Amaq News, established in 2014, is almost universally recognized as a part of the Islamic State's media apparatus, but it has not been formally acknowledged as such by the Islamic State in its propaganda directed to the external world. Thus, Amaq News represents the foremost example of an auxiliary agency for the Islamic State. In not being formally acknowledged to the external world as a part of the Islamic State, Amaq News can present preliminary claims of attacks as news agency items, thus the framing of a "source" speaking to Amaq News on these matters.

(Story in Full... | 3367 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Taj Mahal, Babri Masjid and UNESCO
(Story in Full... | 4673 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Taj Mahal, Babri Masjid and UNESCO

By Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi

The Taj Mahal is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. The emperor had 14 children with his wife who died while giving birth to their 14th child. Feeling sorrowful and distressed, he decided to build this immense mausoleum between 1631 and 1648 to express his immense love for her. The Taj Mahal is considered to be one of the most mesmerizing and breathtakingly beautiful buildings in the world. It is a universal masterpiece and a great architectural achievement.

It is said that over 20,000 workers built it over a period of 22 years. Made of white marble which is decorated with Qur'anic verses and precious stones brought from all over the world, the architecture is truly a wonder in the full sense of the word. Its glamour has remained unchanged for centuries. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization named it a World Heritage Site, and over two million tourists visit it annually. It will always remain one of India's prominent landmarks and its name will always be synonymous with India. Any tourist who visits India will go to the Taj Mahal because a visit to India would not be complete without it.

(Story in Full... | 4673 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Would Kashmir Dispute Never be Resolved!
(Story in Full... | 9334 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Would Kashmir Dispute Never be Resolved!

By Saeed Qureshi

India and Pakistan have been dueling with each other since 1947 for accession or occupation of disputed territories in Kashmir Valley. Ever-since both are stuck up along the Line of Control and may remain so in the future as well. The Kashmiri nation is ethnically and religiously different from India. Kashmiris cannot freely travel across the Indian border as they can do along the Pakistani borders.

India makes a legal clam for her occupation of the disputed territories in Kashmir by citing the agreement reached with the Dogra Monarch Hari Singh ruling Kashmir at the time of partition. Pakistan's claim on Kashmir is based upon the partition formula stipulating that the majority of the religious population would be basic criterion for a state to join either India or Pakistan.

In simple terms, it means Muslims majority areas to join Pakistan and the Hindus majority areas with India. Because of the unrelenting insurgency and continuous internal unrest in the Indian occupied part of Kashmir, India started deploying security forces through 1990s under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) that continue to remain camped on the Indian side of Kashmir ever since. Lately their number has reached 700,000. This is the highest number of armed forces deployment by any country in the post-world war in the disputed territories.

(Story in Full... | 9334 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

We Have To Stop Normalising Relentless Islamophobia in Australia
(Story in Full... | 6882 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

We Have To Stop Normalising Relentless Islamophobia in Australia

By Rabia Siddique

Terrorised, persecuted, stateless, homeless, and, until recently, without real international support - this is the plight of the Rohingya, a Muslim minority community being forced out of Myanmar.

At the hands of the Myanmar military, more than 80 villages have been burnt, leaving ten thousands of Rohingyas fleeing daily and attempting to cross into a flooded Bangladesh.

Amid perennial media coverage linking Islam to terrorism and radicalisation, little has been known in the west of the persecution of Muslim minority communities like the Rohingya.

Like many displaced Muslims, the vulnerable Rohingya may face fear and resentment when they settle in new communities.

If by chance some of the Rohingya find refuge in our lucky country, there's a strong possibility they will be on the receiving end of the relentless Islamophobia experienced by Muslims, in particular since 11 September 2001.

But just how serious a problem is Islamophobia in Australia?

(Story in Full... | 6882 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

How Netanyahu's Son Became The Poster Boy For White Supremacists
(Story in Full... | 5943 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

How Netanyahu's Son Became The Poster Boy For White Supremacists

By Jonathan Cook in Nazareth

The eldest son of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has found himself an unlikely poster boy for David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader, and the neo-Nazi website Daily Stormer.

Last week these cheerleaders for Jew hatred described 27-year-old Yair Netanyahu as "awesome" and "a total bro" for posting a grossly anti-semitic image on social media.

It depicts an Illuminati-like figure and a reptilian creature controlling the world through money and dark arts. Alongside them are a cabal of conspirators, their faces altered to show Netanyahu's main opponents. They include George Soros, a Holocaust survivor who has invested billions in pro-democracy movements, and Ehud Barak, a former Israeli prime minister turned government critic.

This is not Yair's first troubling outburst. Last month he emulated US President Donald Trump in decrying demonstrators who opposed a rally by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, that left a woman dead.

These might be dismissed as the immature rantings of a wayward son, had Yair not been groomed by his father as Israel's "crown prince". Netanyahu Jnr was supposedly behind an online media strategy that steered Netanyahu to electoral victory in 2015. He can be seen at his father's side at meetings with world leaders.

(Story in Full... | 5943 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Islamic State and Kurds: Full Documents and Translation
(Story in Full... | 11886 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Islamic State and Kurds: Full Documents and Translation

By Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi

As a companion to my study for CTC Sentinel on the Islamic State and its relations with the Kurds, here are the original documents in full with translation.

Biography of Salah al-Din al-Kurdi

From the first mujahideen of Halabja who rose up against the Crusader invasion of Iraq in 1424 AH, he resisted the American invasion after the fall of the regime of the tyrant Saddam Hussein who left the land as a permissible morsel before America, its allies and the Safavids who began to maltreat the Sunnis.

He formed with his companions working groups against the American occupaition, composed of a squadron of snipers and a squadron of engineering for mines and IEDs.

The Salah al-Din brigade managed to kill many of the soldiers of the Crusader occupation, destroy dozens of their vehicles and kill their agents in Baghdad and Kirkuk.

The American forces arrested him at the beginning of 1429 AH and he encountered in Abu Ghraib prison the worst treatment from the hateful Rafidites and Crusaders.

(Story in Full... | 11886 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Imran Khan's Speech in Hyderabad Sindh was Impressive
(Story in Full... | 7023 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Imran Khan's Speech in Hyderabad Sindh was Impressive

Imran Khan the mercurial yet inimitable chairman of the political party "Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf" (PTI) is emerging as front-line confident leader as borne out by his speech in Hyderabad city of the Sindh province. The public meeting was certainly huge despite being far from his home turf in Punjab or in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province. It demonstrates that the PTI could be gaining ground in Sindh which primarily has been, a political haven for the PPP and MQM all these years.

In his speech, Imran Khan stated that one of the PTI's political opponent Mian Nawaz Sharif has been disqualified and had to leave the slot of the prime minister because of PTI pursuit of corruption case against him in courts. He announced that PTI was going to do the same about Zardari; the co-chairperson of the PPP. By directly addressing Zardari He thundered that, ""After Nawaz we are coming after you" who in his reckoning was the "biggest problem of Sindh". It is quite candid that Imran is also going to launch an anti- Zardari campaign both politically and through the judicial and legal channels.

(Story in Full... | 7023 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Oppression of Rohingya Muslims Increased After Suu Kyi Took Power, Rights Group
(Story in Full... | 6202 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Oppression of Rohingya Muslims Increased After Suu Kyi Took Power, Rights Group Says

Muslims in Myanmar have been facing more persecution since the election of Aung San Suu Kyi, with restrictions on identity documents and places of worship and the creation of 'Muslim-free' villages, a human rights group said in a report published Tuesday.

Oppression of Islamic communities spreads beyond the north-western Rakhine state, where 90,000 Rohingya - members of a persecuted Muslim minority - have fled violence in recent days, according to the report from the Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN).

"Being a Muslim, I can't go anywhere in my own country," said Kyaw Win, executive director of BHRN, at the report's launch in Bangkok.

(Story in Full... | 6202 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

The Life of Abu Tayyim Inkhil: Deceased Amir of Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed
(Story in Full... | 12350 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

The Life of Abu Tayyim Inkhil: Deceased Amir of Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed

By Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi

Amid the continued failure of the Syrian rebels to roll back the Islamic State-linked Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed in the southern province of Deraa, the U.S.-led coalition and its allies seem to be resorting increasingly to repeated decapitation of the leadership in targeted strikes. These strikes have killed multiple officials in the organization, such as Abu Qasura Kanakari and Abu Hamza Tawheed. On 17 August, a strike killed the amir Abu Tayyim Inkhil, whose life I aim to document in this post.

As Abu Tayyim Inkhil's name suggests, he is originally from the town of Inkhil in north Deraa countryside, well outside the Yarmouk Basin area controlled by Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed. The town is currently controlled by the Syrian rebels. The number of inhabitants is around 45,000 and the main tribes in the town are:

(Story in Full... | 12350 Bytes More | Want to comment? | Your Score On Story: 0)

Ẹsin Islam الدين الإسلامي Religion of Islam Addinin Musulunci Agama Islam ReligiÃ³n del Islam 伊斯兰教 Dini ya Kiislamu Религия Ислам ReligiÃ£o do IslÃ£ イスラム教 Esin Islam 이슬람의 종교 Portal African Muslim Website - Arabic English African Islamic Website For World News, Fatwas, Audios, Videos, Muslim News, Articles, Radio, Audio, Video, Quran, Hadith, TV Channels, Fatwas, Muslim News, Newspapers, Magazines Headlines, Forums, College, Schools, Universities, Mosques, Quranic, Sunnah, Fiqh, Prayers, Salat, Ramadan, Vidoes, Books, Fasting, PDFs On EsinIslam.Com And IslamAfrica.Com