Tag Archives: muslim
Syria’s Assad makes rare visit to tense area
Syria’s Assad makes rare visit to tense area (AP) / 12 March 2014 The visit comes nearly four months before Assad’s seven-year term officially expires. In a rare public appearance, President Bashar Assad on Wednesday visited displaced Syrians in a frontline suburb of the country’s capital, where he vowed to keep up the fight against gunmen whom he blamed for driving people from their homes, state TV said. In this photo released on the official Facebook page of Syrian Presidency, Syrian president Bashar Assad, centre right, visits a shelter of internally displaced people in the Damascus suburb of Adra, Syria on Wednesday, March 12, 2014. – AP The visit to a shelter for displaced people in the Damascus suburb of Adra, just northeast of the capital, coincides with advances by his troops battling rebels who captured parts of the suburb in December, displacing thousands from the area. The visit comes nearly four months before Assad’s seven-year term officially expires. Syrian officials have said the presidential elections would be held on time, according to the constitution. Assad has suggested he would run again but has not confirmed it. The election must be held between 60 and 90 days before Assad’s term ends on July 17. The visit to Adra was Assad’s first public appearance outside Damascus since August, when he toured the suburb of Daraya, once a rebel stronghold, and in the same week, took part in a public iftar, the meal that breaks the dawn-to-dusk fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. “The state will continue to fight terrorism and terrorists who displace people from their homes and commit ugly crimes against them,” Assad said. His government refers to opposition fighters as terrorists. Photos released by the president’s office showed Assad speaking to women, several of whom were carrying children in their arms. One photo showed Assad putting his hand on the shoulder of a child who was lying on a mattress. “The government will continue to provide for the main needs of the displaced until they all return to their homes, whether in Adra or other areas,” the TV quoted Assad as saying. Syria’s civil war, now entering its fourth year, has killed more than 140,000 people. According to U.N. figures, the conflict has also forced about 2.3 million Syrians to seek shelter in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt and Iraq. Also, a UN estimate from July said 6.5 million Syrians have been uprooted from their homes and displaced within the country. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
UAE court convicts 30 Muslim Brotherhood men
UAE court convicts 30 Muslim Brotherhood men Staff Reporter / 22 January 2014 State Security Circuit at the Federal Supreme Court orders the convicts to be jailed for terms ranging from three months to five years. Thirty people accused of links to the Muslim Brotherhood, and charged with setting up a branch of the organisation in the UAE, were sentenced by the State Security Circuit at the Federal Supreme Court to jail terms ranging from three months to five years. The verdicts were issued in the presence of 24 accused. Six others were sentenced in absentia. Fair trial, says human rights association In a statement, the Emirates Human Rights Association said it had followed up the trials of 20 Egyptians and 10 Emiratis, who were allegedly involved in the Egyptian Muslims brotherhood cell, at the Supreme Federal court in Abu Dhabi. “The prosecutions were held in a transparent, clear and open aura,” the statement said, noting that the defendants, throughout the trial, were defending themselves and through lawyers. The trial was attended by representatives from Egypt’s embassy and Egyptian Journalists Syndicate. In reply to a question on the arrest and torture, Jameela Al Hamili, member of the board of directors of the association said the procedures of arrest are legal, and no complaint on torture was sent. news@khaleejtimes.com Earlier, the court heard statements from the accused, the defence team and witnesses and reviewed the reports of experts. The court also ordered the dissolution of the Brotherhood in the UAE, closure of all its offices, as well as confiscation of seized equipment. It also ordered the deportation of the foreign national accused after completion of their jail terms. According to a copy of the verdict which has been obtained by Khaleej Times , Medhat Rajab Abdellah Ammar was sentenced to five years in jail, while Saleh Faraj Daifallah Al Malhatani, Salah Mohammed Rizq Al Mashad, Ibrahim Abdel Aziz Ibrahim Ahmed, Murad Mohammed Hamid Othman Badawi, Othman Abdel Rahman Suliman Matkees, Al Sayyid Awaad Hifni Moussa, Hamada Abdel Aziz Abdel Maqsood and Saleh Mohammed Saleh Al Dhufairti were each sentenced to four years in prison. Ahmed Mahmoud Taha was acquitted of the charges. Ahmed Labeeb Jaffar , Hassan Mohammed Hassan Ahmed, Khalid Mohammed Abdullah Al Shaiba Al Nuaimi, Hamad Hassan Ali Reqait, Ali Saeed Al Ghandi, Rashid Omran Al Shamsi, Mohammed Ali Saleh Al Mansour, Tariq Ibrahim Abdel Rahim Al Qasim and Hussein Ali Abdullah Al Najjar were ordered to serve a year in prison. Ahmed Rashid Al Taboor Al Nuaimi, Hassan Mohammed Hassan Ahmed, Khalid Mohammed Abdullah Al Shaiba Al Nuaimi, Hamad Hassan Ali Reqait and Saleh Mohammed Saleh Al Dhufairi each received three months, while another defendant Hamad Hassan Ali Reqait was let off with a fine of Dh3,000. The foreign nationals accused in the plan are to be deported after serving out their jail terms. The sitting judge, in his ruling said: “Inspired by the rules of the Islamic Shariah, and guided by the principles of the law, the court has given the defendants to prove their innocene and has conducted the trial with utmost transparency as per the UAE constitution and international conventions.” “This court had issued its verdict studying the documents and results of investigations, as well listening to the statements of the defendants,” the judge said. The Public Prosecution stressed that the accused intended to set up a branch affiliated to the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood. “They structured the organisation and set up a general administrative centre under which there are central committees and offices, which are located all over the country.” The Muslim Brotherhood members collected monthly subscription fee, the prosecution told the court. Their actions posed a threat to state security, the prosecution said, and added that their investigation was held in a fair manner. Defence lawyers, meanwhile, challenged the role of the investigators and alleged the evidence gathered did not prove any wrongdoing. “The charges against the accused have been cooked up, and charges of theft are not true because there is no tangible evidence,” the defence lawyers told the court. — news@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
On Eid, Muslims urged to unite and end bloodshed
On Eid, Muslims urged to unite and end bloodshed (AFP) / 15 October 2013 Top Saudi cleric urges Muslims to avoid divisions, chaos and sectarianism. Around two million Muslim pilgrims thronged Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia on Monday for the high point of the Haj, praying for an end to disputes and bloodshed. Helicopters hovered overhead and thousands of troops stood guard to organise roads flooded with men, women and children. Chanting Labaik Allahum Labaik (I am responding to your call, God), many of them camped in colourful tents and took shelter under trees to escape temperatures of around 40º Celsius. Special sprinklers were set up to help cool the pilgrims. In his annual sermon, top Saudi cleric Sheikh Abdulaziz Al Sheikh urged Muslims to avoid divisions, chaos and sectarianism. “Your nation is a trust with you. You must safeguard its security, stability and resources,” said the cleric, who heads Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body, in an address to the Muslim world. “You should know that you are targeted by your enemy… who wants to spread chaos among you … It’s time to confront this.” The cleric recalled the Islamic prohibition of killing and aggression, while insisting there is “no salvation or happiness for the Muslim nation without adhering to the teachings of the religion”. “I will pray the whole day to God to improve the situation for Muslims worldwide and an end to disputes and bloodshed in Arab countries,” 61-year-old Algerian pensioner Saeed Dherari said. “I hope that God will grace all Muslims with security and stability,” said 75-year-old Ahmad Khader, who hails from the Syrian province of Daraa. “The regime is tyrannical and I pray to God to help the oppressed people,” he said, referring to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s embattled government. Egyptian Ahmad Ali, who is performing Haj for the first time, prayed for peace after hundreds were killed in recent months in fighting between security forces and Islamist supporters of ousted president Mohammed Mursi. “I pray for Egypt to enjoy security and stability and for the people to reach understanding and reconciliation,” Ali said. Continue reading
