Islami News: Dec 5, 2009

100 killed in Russian nightclub blast

MOSCOW: At least 100 people died and dozens were injured in an explosion at a nightclub in the Russian city of Perm on Friday, Interfax reported citing investigators.

Russian media said the explosion was an accident caused by fireworks.

RIA-Novosti quoted law enforcement and Emergencies Ministry officials as saying that according to preliminary data, fireworks caused the blast.

"The explosion occurred in the Lame Horse bar in Perm, as a result at least 100 people were killed," the Interfax quoted a police official as saying.

The blast hit the cafe as some 200 people were partying inside, local police said as quoted by Itar-Tass, suggesting that the explosion was caused by a fireworks rocket gone wrong.

"The blast went off at 23:15 Moscow time (20:15 GMT)," RIA Novosti agency quoted the Emergencies Ministry as saying.

Perm has a population of 1.2 million and is the sixth largest city in Russia.

Source: Arab News

ICC Mulls Trial for Darfur Crimes Deniers

UNITED NATIONS — In a new and major escalation, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is mulling legal action against Sudanese officials denying war crimes in the troubled Darfur province. "My office is considering the criminal responsibility of Sudanese officials who actively deny and dissimulate crimes," ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told the UN Security Council late Friday, December 4, reported Reuters.

The Hague-based tribunal issued in March an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for alleged war crimes in Darfur.

Khartoum denies Bashir or any other Sudanese official committed war crimes in Darfur, refusing any cooperation with the court.

Inside Darfur

Darfur in Focus

“Al-Bashir, instead of stopping the crimes, is stopping the information about the crimes,” said Moreno-Ocampo. He claimed that Darfur crimes “are continuing."

"Bashir used the state apparatus not only to commit massive crimes but also to dissimulate them, and therefore facilitate their continuation."

The Darfur conflict broke out in 2003 when rebels took up arms against the Khartoum regime accusing it of discrimination.

The UN says that 300,000 have died as a result of war, disease and malnutrition, but the Sudanese government has put the number at nearly 10,000.

No independent field-research accounts are available to date.

Illusions

The ICC prosecutor told the 15-nation Security Council that the international court was taking steps to protect its witnesses.

"Individuals falsely suspected of providing evidence to the ICC have been arrested and tortured in Khartoum," he said.

"There are public threats by the Sudanese authorities against anybody who cooperates with the court."

But Khartoum denied the ICC prosecutor’s claims, saying he was spreading “illusions” and “catastrophic vision” about Darfur.

"This is a big lie," said Sudanese Ambassador to the UN Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad.

"The war in Darfur is over."

The Sudanese envoy said that Moreno-Ocampo’s claims show his bankruptcy.

"This exposes his bankruptcy," he told Reuters, accusing the ICC chief prosecutor of fanning the flames of conflict in Darfur.

"(He) would like to prolong the suffering of our people," Mohamad said.

"We will charge him with political prostitution."

Source: IslamOnline

Toothless Zardari

ISLAMABAD – Struggling to survive an increasing unpopularity and strained relations with the powerful military, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has agreed to surrender his all key powers to the parliament and the Prime Minister and stay as a “toothless” inhabitant of the president house. “He (Zardari) has left hardly an option for him,” senior political analyst Ansar Abbasi told IslamOnline Saturday, December 5.

“This all exercise may make a time difference, otherwise, he will have to leave, later or sooner.”

"Mr Ten percent" Steals Pakistan Show

Zardari Exile club Back

Embattled Zardari has agreed to surrender his all key powers to the parliament and the prime minister, well-placed sources in the president house said. He has agreed to give up his authority to appoint the all three services chiefs, the judges of the Supreme and High Courts and annual Constitutional article 58-2B, which grants the president the right to dissolve parliament and sack his premier and the cab.

He has also announced the annulment of the controversial 17th amendment inducted by former president Pervez Musharraf to keep all powers in his hand by the year-end.

Last week, Zardari, the chairman of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), transferred the country’s nuclear arsenal to his premier Yousuf Raza Gilani.

“This all will leave Zardari as a toothless president,” said Abbasi.

“But the story will not end here,” he said.

“He is also the co-chairman of the ruling party. And this is against the political and democratic norms that the president holds the office of a particular political party because he (president) is the symbol of federation, and cannot be partisan.”

At Stake

Zardari’s future as president is at stake as his fate would be determined by the courts. “Zardari’s future as a president overwhelmingly depends upon courts,” Abbasi said.

“Though, under the constitution, he enjoys immunity from appearing before any court of law, however, this immunity has also become controversial as the legal fraternity believes that the president does not enjoy immunity in criminal cases.”

A lawsuits has been filed in the Lahore High Court challenging Zardari’s dual position as president and chairman of the ruling party.

His exoneration from corruption and criminal charges under a controversial national reconciliation ordinance (NRO) has also been challenged in the Supreme Court.

“He either will have to stay as a toothless president with no grip on party or parliamentary affairs, or he will have to quit the president house to at least have a grip on the party in line with Sonia Ghandi of Indian Congress,” said Abbasi, referring to the widow of slain premier Rajeev Ghandi, who is leading the government as head of the ruling party.

But Hamid Mir, an Islamabad-based political analyst, believes otherwise.

“I believe that Zardari has bright chances of survival because he has made up his mind to surrender all key powers to the prime minister and the parliament under the constitution, and stay as a toothless president,” he told IOL.

“He has realized that his political survival is only possible in this case.”

Mir opines that Zardari has agreed to give up his powers upon an advice from opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, the chairman of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), who reportedly assured him of his support.

“Zardari has decided to go with Nawaz Sharif,” he said.

“They both have decided to resist any unconstitutional change. That is why, Zardari has bright chances to survive, despite a bad governance and rampant corruption.”

Mistrust

Analysts believe that mutual mistrust is growing between the beleaguered president and the powerful military.

“Different events ranging from Kerry Lugar bill to undue concessions to India, and from corruption charges to bad governance, have created lack of trust between the military-civil bureaucracy, political parties, and Mr Zardari”, Abbasi said, referring to a controversial US aid package to Pakistan. Mir Agrees.

“Lack of trust is an underestimated word,” he said.

“Zardari is equally responsible for widening this trust deficit with army by entertaining some undue demands from America vis-à-vis army, especially the inter services intelligence (ISI),” he said, referring to Zardari’s bid to bring ISI, the country’s formidable spy agency under control of the interior ministry upon US demands.

But the bid was briskly foiled by the powerful army.

Mir believes that despite a huge deficit trust, both side have very limited options.

“In my opinion, this marriage of convenience will continue because the two sides have very limited options,” he said.

“The army is already engaged in Waziristan and Balochistan, and cannot afford any political turmoil in the country.”

Source: IslamOnline

Ottoman Nostalgia

CAIRO — Frustrated with the strict secular culture of their modern state founder and the European Union’s opposition to their accession, more Turks feel nostalgia for the glory days of their lost Ottoman Empire. “Turks are attracted to the heroism and the glory of the Ottoman period because it belongs to them,” Topkapi Palace director Ilber Ortayli, who was the keeper of the sumptuous residence of Ottoman sultans, told The New York Times Saturday, December 5.

More Turks are increasingly harking back to the glory days of their Ottoman Empire.

This nostalgia is also luring young Turks, with many youth now wearing T-shirts emblazoned with slogans like “The Empire Strikes Back”.

“The Ottoman Empire conquered two-thirds of the world but did not force anyone to change their language or religion at a time when minorities elsewhere were being oppressed,” said Egeman Bagis, the minister for European Union affairs.

“Turks can be proud of that legacy.”

The Ottoman Empire lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922.

At the height of its power (16th–17th century), the Ottoman Empire spanned three continents, controlling much of Southeastern Europe, Western Asia and North Africa.

It contained 29 provinces and numerous vassal states, some of which were later absorbed into the empire, while others gained various types of autonomy during the course of centuries.

The empire also temporarily gained authority over distant overseas lands through declarations of allegiance to the Ottoman Sultan and Caliph.

The Ottoman Empire was succeeded by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923.

Revolt

This yearning for the glorious Ottoman days is seen as a revolt against the strict secular culture applied by Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

“Ottomania is a form of Islamic empowerment for a new Muslim religious bourgeoisie who are reacting against Ataturk’s attempt to relegate religion and Islam to the sidelines,” said Pelin Batu, co-host of a popular television history program.

After establishing modern Turkey on the rubble of the Ottoman Empire, Ataturk applied a strict code of secularism, throwing religion out of public life.

He banned Arabic alphabets and the wearing of hijab in state institutions.

But Ataturk’s popularity has seen a steep decline among Turks in recent years.

Furthermore, Turkey has seen the rise of conservative Muslim politicians, crowned with the victory of the Justice and Development Party in the 2002 and 2007 election.

Turkey also elected in August 2007 Abdullah Gul, the country’s first president whose wife dons hijab.

The Ottoman nostalgia is also seen as a reflection of frustration with the EU’s opposition to Turkey’s accession.

“We Turks are tired of being treated in Europe like poor, backward peasants,” said Kerim Sarc, 42, the owner of Ottoman Empire T-Shirts shop and the scion of an illustrious Ottoman family.

Turkey, a predominantly-Muslim but a secular country, applied for EU's membership in 1959 and became an EU candidate in 1999.

But Ankara's half-century quest to join Europe's 27-country club has been dogged by problems since it was made an official candidate in October 2005.

The bloc has imposed tough conditions on Turkey, including asking it to compromise on its longstanding dispute over Cyprus.

Recent opinion polls showed Turks becoming less enthusiastic about Europe.

Though the ruling AK party has repeatedly pledged its intention to persevere with his country's EU bid, recent foreign policy moves by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan fed perceptions that Turkey could be turning away from the West, to engage more deeply with fellow Muslim neighbors.

Source: IslamOnline

Burka furor mirrors France's self-doubts: Scholar

PARIS – As the debate rages on in the western European country on burka, a leading Muslim scholar has said that France’s efforts to ban the loose body-covering reflects growing self-doubts inside the society.

"This is a society that has doubts about itself,” Tariq Ramadan told a parliamentary panel mulling a burka ban Wednesday, December 2, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“For me, this commission is born of a real self-doubt, and suddenly they're looking at one element, at the most extreme slice.

"The problem won't be solved like that."

A debate has been raging in France over burka since Communist MP Andre Gerin proposed a parliamentary probe into whether to ban the wearing.

President Nicolas Sarkozy has weighed in the controversy, saying the burka was "not welcome" in secular France.

The parliamentary panel has invited the Muslim scholar to a hearing on burka before formulating recommendations in a much-awaited report to be presented next month.

According to AFP, there are no figures on the number of women who wear the full-body covering in France -- and whether it is on the rise.

Muslim community leaders say that burka remains a rare exception among France's nearly seven million Muslims, the biggest Muslim minority in Europe.

They have accused lawmakers of wasting time by focusing on a fringe phenomenon, warning that the move would stigmatize the Muslim minority.

* Failure

Ramadan, a professor Islamic studies in at Oxford, said France was failing to address the real problems facing French Muslims by debating a burka ban.

"This debate surrounding the burka bothers me," said the Swiss-born scholar.

"Because in the end, this is not the question that needs to be raised.

"The real problem is that when you have a name that is a bit Arab-sounding, or Muslim by affiliation, you are not going to get a job or you are not going to get an apartment," he said.

The Paris-based anti-racism group SOS-Racism said recently that some French recruitment companies are applying racist policies and ethnic profiling in hiring, filtering out non-white candidates.

A 2007 UN fact-finding mission warned that France's ethnic minorities are trapped in social and economic "ghettos" because of an "insidious racism" tolerated by politicians.

Ramadan, who was chosen by the influential Foreign Policy magazine as one of the 100 top global thinkers in 2009, acknowledged that some women are forced to wear the head-to-toe garment.

"Clearly, there are men who put pressure on women — not just men, but the social context and social ghettoization that leads some women to wear the full-body garb,” he said.

"But a law (to ban it) is the wrong solution."

France was the country that sparked a heated debate across Europe over Muslim women hijab after it banned it in state schools in 2004.

While scholars agree that a woman is not obliged to wear the niqab or burka, Hijab is an obligatory code of dress for Muslim women.

“All of this commotion over the burka does tell ordinary citizens that there is something wrong with Islam and leads to stigmatisation,” he said.

France’s burka debate came back to the fore this week after Switzerland voted in a referendum to ban minarets, putting Muslims’ place in Europe again in the headlines.

"Switzerland is going to open the way for (Europe's) relations with Islam for the next 50 years," he said.

"That's scary."
Source: IslamOnline

Racism Haunts UK Muslim Boxer

CAIRO — Despite being a world champion who earned several titles for his country, British Muslim boxer Amir Khan is still haunted by racism because of his skin color. "I can only say that sometimes skin colour does make a difference," the 22-year-old WBA light-welterweight champion told the Guardian on Saturday, December 5.

"I know for a fact if I were a white English fighter maybe I would have been a superstar in Britain, and the world."

The Bolton-born boxer said he was the target of racists since his first professional defeat to Breidis Prescott, of Colombia, in September last year.

“Straight after the Prescott fight, when people said, ‘He’s finished’, there were racial remarks made," Khan said.

"If you go on the message boards and chat forums there are always people who have to get the religious thing in.

But the racist slurs never discouraged the Muslim boxer.

"It made me stronger, it made me come back stronger and made be a better fighter."

Khan, of Pakistani origins, became the WBA World light-welterweight champion on 18 July 2009, becoming Britain's third-youngest world champion after Naseem Hamed and Herbie Hide.

He was also the former Commonwealth lightweight champion, WBO Inter-Continental lightweight champion, and WBA International lightweight champion.

He makes the first defence of his WBA light-welterweight title against Ukrainian Dmitri Salita in Newcastle later Saturday.

Proud Briton

Though he felt hurt by the racist slurs, the Muslim boxer is proud to represent Britain on international boxing stage.

“I’m proud to be British and it’s a very small minority that mention race, but it does hurt you and it pushes you all the way," Khan said.

"I went to the Olympic Games for Britain and won a medal for Britain and then won a world title for Britain but sometimes you don’t see the appreciation.”

Britain’s ethnic minorities are racked by the pain of racism with an estimated 87,000 members of ethnic minorities being a victim of racially motivated crimes.

Figures also show that ethnic minorities have the worst unemployment and housing crises in the country.

Some 70 percent of all ethnic minorities live in the 88 most deprived areas, compared to 40 percent of the general population.

Khan said that he is trying to bridge the gap between Asian communities and Britons.

“I’m doing it just to fix things between the Asian communities and English communities,” he said.

"There will always be racial things there and not getting on with each other, and I’m trying to break that barrier. I believe in peace."

Source: IslamOnline