English

SHAFAQNA – Since al-Saud imprinted its will on the Hejaz … the country now bears the name of its owner, this one house has made a fortune on by claiming to be the righteous custodian of all Islamic traditions and holy sites, begiing with Mecca. According to The Economist, the kingdom generates over $8.5 billion in revenues per year – not exactly cheap change. Since the world has kept mum before the tyray of al-Saud rights activists have decided to call on Muslims to resist in a maer which will best hamper Riyadh – boycotting haj. SHARE Facebook Twitter Previous articleAyatollah Ali Khameini on Yemen: “Saudi govt. slaughters Yemeni children with US weapons” Next articleY...

SHAFAQNA – The ups and downs of the world pass quickly and all of us will be shattered under the wheels of the time. What I have noticed when studied the conditions of various sections of the society, lead me to this conclusion that the rich and powerful suffer from inteal, mental and spiritual sufferings more than other sections, and because they have not fulfilled many of their wishes and desires, their sufferings are more painful and heart-rending [1]. [1] Sahifeyeh Imam, Vol. 18, page 510, Farazy az Nameye Imam be Farzandash Seyyed Ahmad. SHARE Facebook Twitter Previous articleThree groups which their deeds last after death Next articleEvidence of the war on children o...

young woman wearing burkini sitting by the beach SHAFAQNA –Since several French mayors decided to ban from their beaches the “burkini”, or full-body bathing suit, wo by some conservative Muslim women, a lot of criticism of French restrictions on women’s liberties has resurfaced. Just as with the passage of a law forbidding face coverings in public, effectively baing the burka (complete covering of the body, including the eyes) or niqab (covering all but the eyes) in public spaces, commentators have scoed the ban as men behaving badly and forcing women to conform to their ideals. Kathleen Parker, writing in the Washington Post, complained that “liberté ought to mean wearing a burkini on the ...

SHAFAQNA –With 1.5 million Syrian refugee children missing school despite host countries’ best efforts, Stephanie Gee, refugee rights fellow at Human Rights Watch, explores how kids’ access to education depends on their parents’ right to work. The first dayof school is just around the coer – a day usually marked by excitement and hope for the year to come. But for many Syrian refugee children, it promises to be just another dreary day of selling gum on the street or picking vegetables in the fields. Last year, about half of the 1.5 million Syrian refugee children living in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey did not attend school. Although these host countries have taken generous steps to increase e...

SHAFAQNA –Member of the Assembly of Experts of Iran, Sheikh Hashem Hashemzadeh Herisi said on Thursday that Islam attaches great importance to the issue of human rights. Herisi made the remarks in a ceremony held in in this northweste Iranian provincial capital city to commemorate the Islamic Human Rights and Human Dignity Day in Tehran (August 3). He also underscored that the issue of human rights is more powerful and beyond what is called human rights among the world countries. ‘Human rights is a religious obligation (vajeb) and one of the laws of the Islamic Sharia,’ said the cleric. Admitting that Iran has ‘never claimed’ to be the first country in the world that fully observes all aspe...

SHAFAQNA –A ceremony was held here in the Iranian capital on Wednesday to present the 3rd Islamic Human Rights Award. Iran’s Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani and a number of other senior officials attended the ceremony held at the IRIB Conference Hall on the occasion of the Inteational Day of Islamic Human Rights and Human Dignity. Senior Bahraini cleric Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassem and Arzu Merali, a founding member of the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), were aounced as the wiers of this year’s award. The Iranian Judiciary’s Human Rights Committee holds the event aually to recognize the efforts and achievements of Muslims promoting human rights. In previous years, the...

SHAFAQNA –During a meeting with a group of seminary students, Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, in addition to praying for success in their studies and propagation of Islam added: ’One of the miracles of the Holy Prophet (s) was his support for knowledge, the scholar and academic., as the era when he (s) appeared was an era of ignorance that was found everywhere. However, the Quran is full of commendation towards leaing and acquiring knowledge.’ In explaining that the first thing that was revealed to the Holy Prophet (s) was regarding knowledge and leaing, the Ayatollah added: ‘The first revelation to the Holy Prophet (s) emphasized on reading. This is an extremely important point in helping...

SHAFAQNA –When it comes to immigration, the govement and opposition are in agreement. Our migration program is proudly non-discriminatory and that is how it should remain. Yet the Australian govement is pursuing a migration strategy that makes it extremely difficult for large numbers of Muslims from the Middle East to settle here, even if that is not the policy’s aim. While govements of all stripes insist Australia’s migration program is non-discriminatory, an analysis of available data by The Australian suggests that the migration of Muslims from Lebanon, in particular, has slowed to a trickle, with no sign of a rush coming anytime soon. Immigration officials tell The Australian that the l...

[embedded content] SHAFAQNA –Join Ahmed Gokal in an exhilarating documentary exploring some of the most pressing cases of global human rights violations, and understanding the work conducted by various groups, filmed within the UN Council. SHARE Facebook Twitter Previous articleKevork Almassian speaks on Terror, Syria, misconception and radicalism Let's block ads! بخوانید...

SHAFAQNA –Dozens of people were reportedly killed by US airstrikes in northe Syria last week in what may amount to the greatest loss of civilian life in the coalition’s two-year war against so-called Islamic State. UK-based group Airwars, which monitors coalition action in Iraq and Syria, estimated that between 74 and 203 civilians were killed on 19 July near the village of Manbij, where the US is backing rebels in their assault on IS. The higher number comes from sources Airwars considers less reliable. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said US Central Command would investigate reports of civilian casualties and “continue to do all we can to protect civilians from harm”. “Fighting and violence ...

[embedded content] SHAFAQNA –Join us this Ramadan for Al Quds Day 2016. Organised by the Quds Committee, this year on Sunday 3 July, people from all over the country will be uniting for the freedom of the oppressed in Palestine and beyond. The rally will assemble at Duchess Street from 3pm and we will march through the busy streets of London to Grosvenor Square.http://ihrc.org.uk/events/11668-al-qu… SHARE Facebook Twitter Previous articleIran’s Hamedan Hosts Int’l Holocaust Cartoon Exhibition Let's block ads! بخوانید...

SHAFAQNA –This week, we celebrate the Fourth of July, Independence Day for the United States. I can recall the July 4th celebrations of my youth , watching the fireworks in my hometown of Lockport, N.Y., and thinking — even at a young age — about the ideals that shaped this country, especially freedom of religion. You see, as a young Catholic, I leaed that people of my faith tradition were not always welcomed by those who came before us. We came from strange ethnic groups like Irish, German, Polish or Italian, and the dominant Anglo-Protestant culture was often fearful of us. We practiced a religion which fought wars against Protestant powers in Europe. Our services used a strange language ...

SHAFAQNA –The United Nations special adviser on preventing genocide is urging Bahrain to ensure freedom of speech and assembly. Adama Dieng says the country and the Gulf region are facing “a critical moment” following the govement’s crackdown on religious leaders and human rights advocates. Dieng waed in a statement Wednesday that “repression will not eliminate people’s grievances; it will only increase them.” He expressed conce at the govement’s decision on Monday to strip the country’s leading Shiite cleric, Sheikh Isa Qassim, of his nationality, which has triggered new protests. Dieng called on Bahraini authorities to de-escalate the situation and on all decision-makers and leaders in t...

SHAFAQNA-By: Siddiqua ShahnawazIn the Qur’an the word Masjid, although used many times, is only applied to three specific buildings: the Masjid al Haram (ka’ba), the Masjid al Aqsa (Jerusalem) and the Masjid built at the oasis site called Quba, south-east of Medina. This was the first Masjid of Islam after the advent of Prophet Mohammad (s).A Masjid is a place where one can feel the pulse of any Islamic community. From the earliest times, the Masjid has always been a religious and social centre for the community. Along with ritual prayers, a Masjid has been a place of leaing both secular and religious studies, a place for commemorating important historic occasions as well as providing a pla...

SHAFAQNA –“Go back to where you came from.” It’s a phrase minorities fear they’ll hear. And sometimes they do. That’s why the City of Toronto and Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) launched their “Toronto for all”campaign Tuesday, targeting racism and Islamophobia. Posters that show Muslims standing up against the idea that they don’t belong in Toronto have been popping up around the city. “Muslims are part of Toronto,” the ads read. Debbie Douglas, executive director of OCASI, says the campaign was timed to kick off just before World Refugee Day on June 20. “It is important that Torontonians from all walks of life take responsibility for not only welcoming refugees bu...

SHAFAQNA –The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Prince Zeid bin Ra’ad Al Hussein, called of Bahrain to halt repression and severe restrictions on freedom of expressions. He made the following remarks on Bahrain during his opening statement for the Human Rights Council’s 32nd session, Monday 6th June. “At least 250 people in Bahrain have reportedly been stripped of their citizenship by the Govement because of their alleged disloyalty to the interests of the Kingdom. In addition to these severe restrictions on freedom of expression, which contravene Bahrain’s inteational human rights obligations, an indefinite ban on gatherings in the capital has been in place since 2013. Do...

SHAFAQNA –On Saturday thousands of Muslim worshippers descended on Istanbul’s world famous Hagia Sophia, the towering former Byzantine church that is now a museum, to demand the right to pray there, Turkish media reported. An imam led a prayer in front of the vast building that was once a Greek Orthodox basilica, then a mosque and now a museum before crowds called for it to be restored as a Muslim place of worship. “Let the chains break, open Hagia Sophia,” chanted the crowds who gathered on the plaza in front of the museum, according to Turkey’s Dogan news agency. “In the name of thousands of our brothers we demand to be allowed to pray inside the Hagia Sophia mosque,” said Salih Turhan, t...

SHAFAQNA –In order to bring you, our readers, closer to realities and truths, Shafaqna will conduct a series of exclusive podcast interviews with renown political analysts politicians, officials, religious leaders, and academics. As always our aim is simple – knowledge. In a world run, and based on falsehood, Truth has become somewhat of a rare commodity – still, we ought to seek what has been dissimulated as to rise truly free. As Imam Ali said: “Ask in order to understand, and do not ask in order to find fault, for surely the ignorant man who wants to lea resembles a man of knowledge, and surely a man of knowledge who wants to be difficult resembles an ignorant man who wants to find fault...

SHAFAQNA-An inteational human rights organization called on the US administration to press the Bahraini regime over the immediate release of Sheikh Ali Salman, secretary general of Bahrain’s main opposition bloc, the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society. “The Bahraini authorities have a chance on Monday to reverse Sheikh Salman’s alarming conviction. His imprisonment contradicts promises of reform and makes an inclusive political settlement unlikely,” Brian Dooley, the director of Human Rights Defenders program at the US-based Human Rights First, said on Friday. He added, “If the US govement is serious about helping Bahrain escape its political crisis, it should publicly call for his immediate ...

SHAFAQNA – One of the duties of the followers of Ahlul Bait (AS) is to respect and observe the rights of them in all aspects. For example, if a person does not pay Khoms or acts in a way to deny the rights of Imamate or causes others to become the enemies of Ahlul Bait (AS), must doubt in himself as a Muslim. It is narrated from Imam Mahdi (AJ) who said: The curse of God, the angels and those (of our) followers be on the one who denies our (Ahlul Bait (AS)) rights and credibility. Of course following Ahlul Bait (AS) and paying for their financial and non-financial rights are to the benefits of their followers and will also cause the satisfaction of God. In another narration, Imam Mahdi (AJ...