Israeli War Crimes in Gaza: UN

UNITED NATIONS -- Israeli forces committed war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity during their three-week war on the Gaza Strip, UN fact-finding rights mission concluded on Tuesday, September 15, hinting to a possible referral of the case to the International Criminal Court (ICC). "The mission concluded that actions amounting to war crimes, and possibly in some respects crimes against humanity, were committed by the Israel Defense Force," Richard Goldstone, the panel head, told reporters.

The 600-page report accused Israel of violating international humanitarian law during its onslaught on Gaza eight months ago, citing the firing of white phosphorous shells and the use of high explosive artillery shells.

Killed by Israel, Eaten by Dogs "Dad, I'm Dying" Palestinian Holocaust Museum "There were numerous instances of deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects in violation of the fundamental international humanitarian law principle of distinction, resulting in deaths and serious injuries."

It cited "strong evidence that Israeli forces committed grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention in Gaza, including willful killing, torture or inhumane treatment, willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health, or extensive destruction of property.”

The report said Israeli forces used disproportionate force and failed to take precautions to minimize loss of civilian life.

"The Israeli operations were carefully planned in all their phases as a deliberately disproportionate attack designed to punish, humiliate and terrorize a civilian population."

Some 1,400 Palestinians were killed during the fighting between December 28, 2008 and January 18.

While Israel claims 300 civilians were killed, a Gaza observer group has said over 900 of the dead were innocent civilians.

Thirteen Israelis, 10 soldiers and three civilians, were killed in Hamas attacks.

ICC Referral

Goldstone recommended to the UN Security Council asking Israel to probe possible crimes committed by its forces.

He insisted the investigations should be "independent and in conformity with international standards."

The UN investigator also urged the formation of a committee of human rights experts to monitor any such proceedings.

Israel has refused to cooperate with the UN fact-finding mission or allow it onto its territory.

It has rejected international criticism of the war, saying it has so far found no cause to prosecute any of its soldiers.

The Israeli Haaretz daily has published testimonies by Israeli soldiers in which they admitted killing innocent Palestinians in cold blood and ransacking their properties during the Gaza war.

The UN fact-finding mission stressed that if Israel fails to investigate crimes by its soldiers, then the UN Security Council should refer the situation to the ICC in The Hague.

The Hague-based court investigates war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed on the territory of, or by a national of a state.

A coalition of 350 European and Arab civil society organizations has filed a lawsuit with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israel over war crimes in Gaza.

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France Army Organizes Hajj Trips

CAIRO — For Mohamed-Ali Bouharb, the soul-searching journey of hajj he plans to embark on this year will be exceptional, since the Muslim soldier will be traveling all the way to the holy sites on a special trip provided by the army of the secular European country. "The army is always in advance of society," a jubilant Captain Bouharb told the Globe & Mail on Tuesday, September 15.

For this year’s hajj, Muslims in the French army who will go on the journey to Saudi Arabia will not have to travel on private commercial flights with ordinary civilians.

In a break from tradition, the Defense Ministry will provide its Muslim soldiers a plane to fly them and organize their stay.

The new hajj journey is the first to be sponsored by the army for Muslim personnel.

Longtime before, the army has sponsored annual trips for its soldiers to Catholic shrines in Lourdes with its long history of bonds with the Catholic Church.

Soldiers and officers willing to embark on the hajj journey next November would pay about €3,000, an amount less than most private travel agencies.

On the other hand, accommodation and guide will be provided by the Saudi Defense Ministry.

Muslim soldiers hailed the army's upcoming hajj trip for providing them security.

Military personnel who travel on their own for the hajj could fall victim "to thieves or swindlers or disreputable travel agencies," Bouharb said.

"Or imagine the situation of a serviceman who goes on his own and stays in a place where there's some incident – I don't know what kind, but maybe a bomb or a fire."

Hajj, Makkah pilgrimage, is one of the five pillars of Islam.

Every able-bodied adult Muslim -- who can financially afford the trip -- must perform hajj once in their lifetime.

There are nearly seven million Muslims in France, making up the biggest Muslim minority in Europe.

Changing Atmosphere

While arranging a hajj trip would be unusual for any Western government, it is especially extraordinary in France, a Catholic country with a strict secular tradition.

Some like Bouharb insist that the army remains insulated from the wrangling and heated debates on secularism and thorny issues regarding he Muslim community, like the recent furor over Muslim women burqa.

"It the army is anaesthetized from all the social questions and debate outside."

Yet, experts say Islam in the French military was not on an equal footing with other faiths.

The Defence Ministry created a Muslim chaplaincy only in 2005, long after it had established Catholic, Protestant and Jewish offices.

The atmosphere, however, is changing in army with a number of new policies that better accommodated Muslim personnel, like the hajj trips.

"Soldiers I've interviewed say it was hard to be Muslim in the armed forces until a few years ago," said Elyamine Settoul, a doctoral student at the Institute for Political Studies in Paris who has surveyed minorities in the military.

"There were no accommodations for Ramadan," he added.

"If the meals contained pork they weren't offered an alternative. It created tensions. But they say it's much better now."

Other initiatives were designed to help Muslim soldiers understand the history and culture of France.

Last year, the army sent two of its Muslim chaplains to a government-sponsored class on citizenship and secular values for imams, the first of its kind. Another six will attend the course this fall.

“What I knew about secularism going in was what everybody knows,” said Capt. Bouharb, 32, who was one of the first graduates.

“What I learned was its history, all the political debate at the beginning of the 20th century and its legal basis.”

Bouharb also said the course left him embracing his French Muslim identity.

“Even if our parents were not born in France, it's our country.”

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Basra Rejoices Alcohol Ban

BASRA — Fatima Haydar al-Shibil is finally waking up from the nightmare that haunted her entire life. Her alcoholic husband has abused her and her children for years, but now they feel safer as he is much less likely to reach his addiction, since Iraq’s southern governorate of Basra banned the sale of liquor.

“When he was younger, he was a very religious person but since he started to drink our lives became a hell,” Shibil, a 57-year-old Basra resident.

“I know that everything is linked with the alcohol and for this reason I’m very happy with the ban.”

The Basra provincial council passed a decree last month stating that "anyone selling liquor, drinking in public, making or importing alcohol in Basra" would be fined five million dinars ($4,270).

Iraq's Clandestine Alcohol Business

Elsewhere in Iraq, including in the capital Baghdad, the sale and consumption of alcohol is authorised. Officials affirmed that the decision is based on the constitution, which bans anything that violates the principles of Islam.

“We are banning something that goes against he pillars of Islam,” Ahmed al-Sulayti, Basra’s deputy governor, told IOL.

“As far as Islam is the base of our constitution, such decision is legal and an example for the other regions of Iraq.”

Soon after the decision, the Basra authorities shut down some of the liquor shops widely spread in Iraq's third largest city.

“We don’t want to affect no one,” asserts Sulayti.

“We are just trying to keep stability, reinforce our religion that is the pillar of this society and prevent alcohol from entering Muslim homes.”

Islam takes an uncompromising stand in prohibiting intoxicants. It forbids Muslims from drinking or even selling alcohol.

The general rule in Islam is that any beverage that get people intoxicated when taken is unlawful, both in small and large quantities, whether it is alcohol, drugs, fermented raisin drink or something else.

Protective

Some say that the ban will not stop the spread of alcohol in Basra, but will only make the black market thrive. “People will continue drinking products from the black market even if they get it with a higher price, they are willing to pay for it,” Ali Shammar, who is an alcohol consumer himself, said.

Abdel-Kareem al-Jannabi, a political analyst and teacher at Basra University, agrees.

“Banning wont solve problems but will make the black market very wealthy in Iraq,” he said.

But other Iraqis disagree, saying that the ban would be a step to protect their families and beloved ones.

“Such habits are brought from the West and we have the obligation to protect our families from temptation,” Muhammad al-Mutawr, a 51-year-old dentist, said.

“I hope that like in Basra, we can have this prohibition countywide.”

Alcohol consumption is reaching worrying levels in Iraq, especially among youths of different social classes and genders.

Any person can buy the intoxicating products without being asked to prove his age.

During Saddam Hussein’s regime, alcohol consumption in public places was forbidden.

But in 2005, the Ministry of Interior abolished Saddam's alcohol, nightclubs and casinos restriction law, which was introduced in the 90's.

Now bars, pubs and liquor stores, once shut down by militant groups after the 2003 invasion, are back to business and proliferating.

Hussein al-Firayjat, a cigarette seller, also believes the bang would prevent youth exposure to alcohol that might indirectly force them to become addicts.

“When you give the chance to youth to choose between drinking or not, sometimes curiosity will drive them to try it,” he explains.

“But with the banning, we would be able to sleep well, because our children will be protected.”

For Shibil, the alcoholic’s wife, the chances that her husband finds his way to liquor through the black market will be much less than before.

“I know there are many women suffering with the same problem and are thanking God for this opportunity to live the rest of their lives with the dignity that alcohol wasn’t giving them.”

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Tehran To Meet World Powers

TEHRAN: Iran agreed Monday to hold talks with six world powers next month on its latest proposals to allay concerns over its nuclear program, in a move Washington welcomed as an “important first step.”

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana spoke by telephone with Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and they agreed that talks would be held Oct. 1 between Iran and representatives of the six powers.

“Iran is ready for a serious dialogue in October,” Jalili said. “This morning we reached an agreement with the Iranians to hold a meeting on Oct. 1,” Solana’s spokeswoman said.

The venue for the talks between Iran and the six nations — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — is yet to be decided.

Washington welcomed Tehran’s agreement to enter talks. “Let’s say it’s an important first step and one hopes for the best,” US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the UN atomic watchdog in Vienna.

The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, said in Vienna that Tehran hoped the talks would pave the way for the future. “We have always stated that we are in favor of dialogue, but of course unconditional dialogue,” he told reporters.

Laying down conditions for dialogue was “tantamount to foregone conclusions. What are you going to discuss about if you really want to put conditions?” he asked.

The six powers had called for urgent talks with Iran after it handed new proposals to their representatives on Wednesday. Washington had expressed disappointment with the package, saying it was “not really responsive to our greatest concern,” but Moscow said it offered “something to dig into.”

According to a copy of the proposals obtained and published by US nonprofit investigative journalism group, Pro Publica, Iran said it was prepared to hold “comprehensive, all-encompassing and constructive negotiations.” The talks would address nuclear disarmament as well as a global framework for the use of “clean nuclear energy,” the document said, without specifically referring to Iran’s own nuclear program.

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Mitchell Launches Mideast Peace Bid

JERUSALEM: US envoy George Mitchell said Sunday he hoped to wrap up an agreement over the next few days in talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on a settlement freeze and a revival of peace negotiations.

“While we have not yet reached agreement on many outstanding issues, we are working hard to do so, and indeed the purpose of my visits here this week is to attempt to do so,” Mitchell said with Israeli President Shimon Peres at his side.

Mitchell, who arrived in Israel on Saturday, has been trying to prepare a package under which Israel would freeze settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and Arab states would take initial steps toward recognizing Israel.

Washington hopes both moves would lead to the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks suspended since December.

Mitchell meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday and holds talks the next day with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has said he would not restart peace negotiations unless Israel commits to a settlement freeze.

“There is still work to be done,” Netanyahu told reporters before flying to Cairo for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. “Progress has been made on some issues and there are certain things in which we have yet to make progress.”

Netanyahu said he hoped he and Mitchell would be able to “narrow the gaps and perhaps to bridge them” in order to move forward in what he termed the “diplomatic process.” During the meeting with Netanyahu, Mubarak called on Israel to stop all settlement activities and urged the resumption of talks with Palestinians, state news agency MENA reported.

A statement from Netanyahu’s office said the leaders “discussed the challenges facing the region and the need for all sides — Israel, the Palestinians, Arab states and the international community — to contribute their part to advancing the peace process.”

Analysts were skeptical that the meeting, part of efforts to revive stalled peace talks, would have much impact.

“If you want to move to a real peace process, the US administration has to lay out a vision for the final status and then force the parties to react to it,” said Ezzedin Choukri-Fishere, professor of international relations at the American University in Cairo.

While Israeli officials have held out the prospect of a moratorium in new construction in settlements, Netanyahu has said the building of some 2,500 homes for Israelis in the West Bank would continue and that the city of Jerusalem would not be included in any settlement deal.

The United States hopes an agreement on the settlement issue would pave the way for a meeting involving Netanyahu, Abbas and US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly around Sept. 23.

But Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said Abbas would tell Mitchell there would be no compromise. “Israel must halt all settlement activities including natural growth,” Erekat said.

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Jordan To Build Nuclear Plant

AMMAN: The Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) on Sunday signed a $12 million agreement with Belgium’s Tractebel Engineering (GDF-SUEZ) for conducting the necessary field and survey studies related to the recently chosen site of the country’s first nuclear energy plant, an official statement said.

The deal for the 24-month study was signed by the JAEC Khalid Toukan and Tractebel’s CEO Georges Cornet, it added.

Under the agreement, the Belgian firm pledged to extend two reports to the JAEC about its assessment of the environmental and safety aspects of the project, Toukan said.

The Belgian company won the contract in competition with six other international firms, he added. “The commission is exercising extra effort and transparency in adopting best practices to decide the safest and most secure location” Toukan said. Cornet said that his firm would employ “its extensive experience and vast international resources to locate the best site possible” for the proposed nuclear plant.

The site for Jordan’s first nuclear plant was chosen by the JAEC and a national technical committee some 25 km south of the Red Sea port of Aqaba and 12 km to the east of the coastline.

Over the past year, Jordan signed nuclear cooperation agreements with the world’s major nuclear powers in a bid to obtain the necessary know-how for running a nuclear plant for peaceful purposes

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Hate Groups Use Teen To Defame Islamic Center

COLUMBUS, Ohio: At only age 17, Fathima Rifqa Bary has already managed to create one of the most controversial national news stories in the United States. Her heinous allegations have tried to give Islam a bad name and taint the reputation of Noor Islamic Cultural Center (NICC), one of the most prominent mosques of Columbus, Ohio.

She and her family left their Sri Lankan hometown in 2000. Bary, who had lost sight in one eye, hoped to find a cure in the United States. What she found, instead, was religion. Bary left Islam four years ago and secretly converted to Christianity. According to her testimony, her father recently learned of her conversion and threatened to kill her, prompting her to run away from home.

An openly declared Christian on Facebook, Bary corresponded with Florida pastor Blake Lorenz of the Global Revolution Church in Orlando. Accepting his offer of help, she boarded a Greyhound bus and fled to the pastor’s home. Bary’s parents not knowing the whereabouts of their daughter, filed a missing person’s report. As three weeks passed and police involvement intensified, Lorenz finally admitted to sheltering the runaway teen. Bary has currently been placed in foster care and her case awaits hearing in the Florida family courts.

Rifqa’s father, Mohammad Bary, has repeatedly denied ever threatening to kill his daughter. He claims to have known of her conversion for quite awhile. “When she was 14 ... when she wanted to do some babysitting, she put (on the application) I’m Christian. And that was the first time. Then one year ago, my son came and told me that she was going around school with a bible, trying to convince other kids.”

Muhammad Bary states that he accepted her conversion. He claims to be a liberal father who allowed Rifqa to be a cheerleader and wear clothes outside of the Islamic dress code. He himself had gone to a Christian school and his best friend was a Christian. He said that this whole matter was the result of a family argument blown out of proportion. “My daughter is a minor. She has been kidnapped by the pastor. Somebody came to Ohio and took her. The Evangelicals have brainwashed and have coached her what to say. They are using her and she is a victim. I just want her to stay at home and be part of the family.”

Her mother added tearfully: “She is my only daughter, I want her home.”

The local news channels poured forth images of Rifqa. Her 5’ 2”, 90 pound stature shook vigorously as she cried:” They love God more than they love me. It is an honor to kill me. I am fighting for my life here you don’t understand, I cannot go back to Ohio.” Rifqa sobbed uncontrollably on pastor Lorenz’s shoulder. Christian right-wingers in the media sympathized with her attacking the “Islamic Shariah” which they said prescribed the death penalty for apostates.

The Columbus police have said they do not see Mohammad Bary as a threat to his daughter. As Bary’s lawyer demanded that the case be moved from Florida to Ohio, Rifqa immediately changed her tone and started making statements against NICC. She claimed that her parents attended the mosque and adhered to its teachings, which supported and promoted terrorist activities and encouraged honor killing.

Her lawyer John Steinberger issued a 35-page memorandum, highlighting how Bary’s life would be in “clear and present danger” if returned to Ohio due to her parents’ affiliation with NICC. He attacked everyone from the mosque’s director Hani Saqr to its other active members. Local radio and television stations promptly shifted their focus to the mosque and its alleged ties to terrorism. A Fox News truck was seen outside the mosque during taraweeh prayers. The mosque consequently began receiving concerned phone calls and even hate mail from those who were convinced that Bary would be killed due to her conversion.

In an effort to set the facts straight, NICC invited major television networks such as CBS, ABC and Fox to visit the Noor premises. They were also given a press release that said: “NICC categorically denies all allegations made against its community — NICC records indicate that Rifqa attended only three Sunday classes in 2007.” This confirms Muhammad Bary’s claims of belonging to a different mosque.

The press release further stated: “This is a family law issue that is currently being handled by the Florida family courts. NICC believes that attempts to draw the Muslim community into this conflict are a smokescreen hiding an effort to exploit Rifqa and her family. Unfortunately, hate groups appear to be using this family matter as an attempt to further their religious and political goals.”

When contacted by Arab News, an NICC official, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “This is nothing new, right-wing Christians have always attacked active mosques. Noor is a very prominent mosque. It caters to 10,000 Muslims in central Ohio. We have very successful interfaith programs. We have prominent visitors like congressmen, and the president of Bangladesh visited us. We have even been invited to the White House.”

Is NICC considering any legal action for this defamation? Adnan Mirza, an NICC spokesperson, said that at this time they are not. He said NICC felt that the case was already in court and the legal process would show that those accusations were not true.

Muslims, who attend the NICC, were outraged. “I have been coming to this mosque since it opened. I have never heard one extremist, terroristic sermon. They only tell us to be better parents, neighbors and be exemplary in our behavior to non-Muslims.” said a taraweeh prayer attendee.

Members of other faith groups have also supported NICC. Talking to Arab News, at a recent event, Rev. Tim Ahrens said that he was ashamed by the accusations of pastor Lorenz. That it was not based on Jesus’ teachings. “It is not news but a smear campaign. I have known Hani Saqr for the last 20 years. I am ashamed to see people smear Noor. We stand with you shoulder to shoulder. This center has blessed central Ohio.”

Ahrens also said people made statements against Islam and NICC because of “fear and hate and lack of knowledge. That it is coming from elements who call themselves Christians is troubling to me as it does not reflect the values of Christ. I have only ever found graciousness and kindness in my dealings with Muslims.

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No Hajj Delay Over Swine Flu: Qaradawi

CAIRO — The spread of the swine flu virus does not justify postponing the spiritual journey of hajj, prominent scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the head of the International Union for Muslim Scholars, said Sunday, September 13.

“There is no need to postpone hajj or `Umrah this year,” Qaradawi told the Qatari daily Al-Watan.

He said people who are afraid of contracting the virus can avoid traveling for hajj this year.

“But postponing the ritual is not permissible under Shari`ah,” he said, urging Muslims going to hajj to take all precautionary measures such as anti-viral vaccines before going to the spiritual journey.

The swine flu (H1N1), a mixture of various swine, bird and human viruses, first emerged in Mexico in April.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says the virus is moving around the globe at "unprecedented speed."

More than 2,837 people have been killed around the globe since the swine flu first surfaced in Mexico in April.

Health officials from the 22 Arab countries have banned the elderly and young children from going on hajj and `Umrah over swine flu fears.

“However, hajj and `Umrah can be postponed for the elders, those who are chronically ill and pilgrims who performed the ritual before,” said Qaradawi.

More than two million Muslims perform hajj, an obligation for all able-bodied, financially capable Muslims at least once in a lifetime, every year.

No pandemic

Qaradawi said the swine flu has not yet turned into an pandemic disease.

“Therefore, Muslims who die of the virus can’t be considered a martyr,” the prominent scholar said.

“But if the virus turned into pandemic, those who die of would be considered martyrs.”

Earlier, Saudi scholar Sheikh Abdel-Mohsen Al-Obeikan said that Muslims who die of the swine flu would be considered martyrs.

Qaradawi allowed the pilgrims to wear masks while performing the ritual.

“Islam pays too much attention to protection the self,” he said.

“If these masks help protect against the virus, therefore pilgrims should wear it.”

The eminent scholar also urged Muslim pilgrims to avoid congestions during the ritual.

“We advise pilgrims to choose the timing when there is no congestion such as early morning,” he said.

“We also urge Muslims who are suspected of contracting the virus to avoid contacting with people and go for medical tests to avoid harming others.”

The prominent scholar also exhorted the pilgrims to pay much attention to the personal cleaning.

“Pilgrims must abide by the doctors’ recommendations on personal cleaning,” he said.

“Personal cleaning is the core of the Islamic teachings.”

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Islamic Wonder

By Muawia E. Ibrahim

23 April 2004

ABU DHABI - This is no calligraphy - or any other type of man-made artwork. It is a nature-made artefact that manifests the magnificence of Allah in a finely-finished Arabic calligraphy style.

This naturally formed rock, which bears the name of Allah, The Almighty and Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him), was discovered by a Sri Lankan businessman who brought the stone to the region so that it can be kept in a museum or any other safe place.

M. S. Hameed, who is in Abu Dhabi visiting relatives, contacted Khaleej Times to share, what he describes, as blessed signs of Allah, with the largest possible number of people.

"This a miracle of Allah. It is a magnificent artefact. It's beautiful formation which is nature-made excels the finest decorative arts of calligraphy," said Mr Hameed, who himself is an artefacts collector.

He claimed that the letters appearing on the rock are formed in the same order as in the seal of the Prophet.

"The most significant is the way the letters are written in the same order as in the seal of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) which is illustrated in the encyclopedia of Islam, Letters of the Prophet.

According to a calligraphy expert who studied the piece of rock, the inscription of the words (Allah), (Mohammed) and (Rasool or Prophet) were found to be naturally created.

"This is no artificial work of art as no man could make such a genuine and marvellous work of art," said Masliya Farook, a specialised expert in art and calligraphy.

"I think this piece of semi-precious stone is of immense historical and cultural value to the Muslim community throughout the world," added Mrs Farook.

The precious stone has also been certified by the Sri Lankan Gem Testing Laboratory as a natural genuine quartz rough specimen that has not been tampered in anyway.

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