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A Turkish flag flutters atop the Turkish embassy as an Israeli flag is seen nearby, in Tel Aviv, Israel June 26, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo SHAFAQNA – Turkey’s parliament approved a reconciliation agreement signed with Israel in June which has brought to an end a six-year rift between the two regional powers, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Saturday. Relations between the two countries crumbled after Israeli marines stormed a Turkish ship in May 2010 to enforce a naval blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, killing 10 Turks on board. Israel, which had already offered its apologies for the raid, agreed under the deal to pay out $20 million to the bereaved and wounded in retu for Turkey dropping outstanding legal claims. Both countries are to appoint ambassadors under an agreement which is partly driven by the prospect of lucrative Mediterranean gas deals. Under the de,turkish parliament approves bill amid brawl ...ادامه مطلب

Blair Imani meeting Bill Clinton. Credit: Courtesy of Blair Imani SHAFAQNA- On April 13, 2016, barely a month after I started observing hijab, I attended an event called “Conversations with Bill.” It was a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton, one of the first I had attended, and I was so excited to hear from the former president. http://en.shafaqna.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/bill.mp3 Unfortunately, before the event could even get going I was referred to as a terrorist by a comfortably bigoted attendee. I already felt out of place. I was one of the only black people present, one of the youngest attendees, and the only woman wearing hijab. My eyes filled with tears and I asked one of the organizers if I could attend another fundraiser at a later date. In the midst of all of this, I had also misplaced my coat. As I walked out, a volunteer assured me that it would be retrieved. He was confused that I was so upset about a jacket. I finally told him about the anti-Muslim bigotry I had just experienced, and he apologized profusely and assured me he would make it right. I drove around the area for a while waiting to hear if my coat had been found, calling my mother and some friends as I tried to collect myself. Right when I was about to give up on the DC political scene as a whole, one of the event organizers called me. It tued out that upon hearing about the altercation, President Bill Clinton wanted to speak with me. He made a point to apologize to me personally and reassure me that anti-Muslim bigotry has no place in the United States. The lengths that not only he, but the entire Hillary for America campaign went to in order to resolve this incident made an indelible mark on me. I felt like I mattered — and I felt like Hillary would work to make a more perfect union. And so I had high hopes for Bill’s speech. But they were let down. I was particularly shaken by the former president’s words about black people and Muslims, as a person who exists at the intersection of thes, ...ادامه مطلب

SHAFAQNA – Saudi authorities have detained the Turkish defense attaché to Kuwait at Ankara’s request. Meanwhile, Germany has waed Erdogan that re-establishing capital punishment will derail EU membership talks. Quoting unnamed Saudi sources, Saudi-owned broadcaster Al-Arabiya reported Monday that defense attaché Mikail Ihsanoglu was prevented from boarding a flight to Germany from the easte Saudi city of Dammam. Authorities said Ihsanoglu had entered Saudi Arabia by land and was ticketed for a flight to the city of Düsseldorf via Amsterdam but was arrested without incident inside the terminal. It was not immediately clear what – if any – connections Ihsanoglu has in Düsseldorf or Germany in general. “Saudi authorities are holding the military attaché for the Turkish embassy in Kuwait,” the Saudi kingdom’s Asharq Al-Awsat daily reported, quoting what it described as a foreign diplomatic source. “He was stopped based on a Turkish request and was detained during his attempt to flee over his likely links to the coup in Turkey,” the daily reported. Turkey’s ambassador in Kuwait, Salih Morat Tamer, told the Al-Qabas newspaper in Kuwait that Gullu is suspected of involvement in the coup attempt but stressed that “accusations against him are yet to be investigated once he is handed over to Turkey.” The official Saudi Press Agency meanwhile reported that Saudi King Salman, who is vacationing in Morocco, telephoned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to “congratulate him on Turkey’s retu to normality” after the failed uprising by a faction of the military. Let's block ads! بخوانید, ...ادامه مطلب

SHAFAQNA- A Muslim group in suburban Chicago has erected two billboards over the city’s highways that they hope will fight terrorism and combat Islamophobia. The Association of Pakistani Americans of Bolingbrook paid nearly $7,600 for the billboards, which went up Sunday over Interstate 290 and I-55 and will be displayed for 4 weeks, the Chicago Tribune reported. The signs read “Muslims to Muslims: See Something. Say Something. Save Innocent Lives.” The signs are meant to show average Americans that Muslims don’t condone terrorism, said Talat Rashid, the association’s founder. He said the billboards call on Muslims to alert authorities if they suspect anyone of such acts. Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago chairman Mohammed Kaiseruddin said officials at the Cook County Department of Homeland Security & Emergency Management asked him to promote the slogan. He refused, saying it’s an over-simplistic message that could lead to the reporting of innocent people, such as the 14-year-old Texas boy who was arrested in 2015 when his teacher suspected a clock he built may have been a bomb. “It’s so vague,” Kaiseruddin said. “See something: That could mean profiling. That could mean somebody Middle Easte wearing a long beard. And say something? Say to who?” Ahmed Rehab, executive director of Chicago’s Council on American Islamic Relations, said the slogan could lead to other problems for the Muslim community, as there isn’t any data to suggest Muslims who see something suspicious don’t speak up. Rashid said he and members of his organization knew some people wouldn’t like the billboards, but that the members believe the message is a proactive way of teaching the public about the difference between Muslim beliefs and extreme radicals who aren’t welcomed by the community. Source: Saukvalley This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/co, ...ادامه مطلب

SHAFAQNA – Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin promised closer cooperation and oversaw a series of deals Saturday, as the two countries deepen ties in the face of growing tensions with the West. According to RT, the Russian state-funded news organisation, the deals worth $50 billion were also facilitated by a contingent accompanying Putin, including Kremlin administration head Sergey Ivanov, five deputy prime ministers, Gazprom and Rosneft oil and gas companies heads. In what was Putin’s fourth trip to China since Xi became president in 2013, the two men laid emphasis on their shared outlook which mirrors the countries’ converging trade, investment and geopolitical interests. “Russia and China stick to points of view which are very close to each other or are almost the same in the inteational arena,” Putin said. The Russian leader added the two had discussed “strengthening together the fight against inteational terrorism,” the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula, Syria, and stability in the South China Sea. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping attend a welcome ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on June 25, 2016. (Reuters) Russia and China have been brought together by mutual geopolitical conces, among them wariness of the United States. The two countries often vote as a pair on the UN Security Council, where both hold a veto, sometimes in opposition to Weste powers on issues such as Syria. China has raised tensions with its neighbours and the US over its claims to virtually all of the South China Sea, where it has built militarised artificial islands to bolster its claims in the contested but strategically vital region. In this May 6, 2016 file photo, soldiers from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy watch as the USS Blue Ridge arrives at a port in Shanghai. (AP) Russia’s annexation through referendum of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula and support for other, ...ادامه مطلب

SHAFAQNA – Spokesman of the People’s Democratic Party in Turkey (HDP) Ayhan Bilgen affirmed that the Turkish govement, since the beginning of the crisis in Syria, has been transporting weapons via ambulances to the terrorist organizations in Syria. Bilgen told Syrian TV Sunday that Turkey was a main cause of the war against Syria due to its miscalculations and arbitrary policies which caused the bloodshed of innocents in Syria, pointing out that terrorists leave Turkish camps for fighting in Syria and retu back to the camps in Turkey. The policy of Justice and Development party (AKP) negatively affected civil security in Turkey which became now in danger, affirming that AKP is seeking to liquidate HDP and moving it out of the Parliament, saying that what happens in the southeaste of Turkey is demolishing cities with shells and explosives on the pretext of fighting terrorism and this is an incredible and unbelievable excuse. Bilgen pointed out that the policy of AKP was completely wrong and based on unbalanced regional balances. He said that Turkish regime unlimitedly interfered in Syria’s affairs, supported terrorist organizations, and allowed foreign fighters to cross its border into Syria. HDP spokesman called upon Turkish govement to abandon terrorist organizations it supported including ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra, Sultan Abdel Hamid brigades, Ahrar al-Sham and others, and to support intra-Syrian dialogue. SHARE Facebook Twitter Previous articleMinnesota Faiths Break Barriers in Ramadan Iftar Let's block ads! بخوانید, ...ادامه مطلب

SHAFAQNA – Plans by the govement announced in today’s Queen’s Speech to introduce a new law against non-violent extremism represent a direct attack on civil liberties and Britain’s Muslim communities. The Counter-Extremism and Safeguarding Bill envisages introducing a new civil order regime such as ASBO’s to restrict so-called extremist activity. However it is reported that the bill is still far from ready to be introduced to Parliament because the govement is struggling to come up with a legally robust definition of extremism that will withstand the first legal challenge on freedom of speech grounds from those it seeks to ban. Currently the govement defines extremism as “the vocal or active opposition to our fundamental values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and the mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs”. It is so wide that it is capable of ensnaring terrorist sympathisers but also those who oppose the govement or hold conservative views such as or disapproval of abortion or same-sex marriage. The difficulty experienced by the govement in drawing up a watertight definition highlights the obvious dangers of criminalising what people think and say, particularly in relation to what it calls non-violent extremism. All kinds of illiberal views could be deemed extremist. To prosecute those holding them is clearly interfering with their right to freedom of belief and speech. The bill also proposes introducing new powers of intervention to tackle the so-called radicalisation of children in “unregulated education settings”. This effectively means govement oversight of the Muslim religious education sector dominated by after-school madrasas. Quite how the madrasa sector is breeding extremists has never been shown but the govement seems intent on reining in their independence regardless. The proposals confirm our view that that far from being driven by a desire to fight terrorism, anti-terrorism policy is part of a wider socia, ...ادامه مطلب

Turkish anti riot police officers launch water cannon and tear gas to disperse supporters of the Turkish Zaman Daily newspaper, who demonstrate outside the newspaper headquarters on March 4, 2016 in Istanbul. An Istanbul court on March 4, 2016 ordered into administration a Turkish Zaman daily newspaper that is sharply critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, amid growing alarm over freedom of expression in the country. / AFP / OZAN KOSEOZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty ImagesTurkish police used water cannon and tear gas to disperse crowds protesting outside the headquarters of the opposition Zaman newspaper. They moved in to secure the premises following a govement decision to take over the management of the media group. Part of the crowd appears to have taken cover inside of the building, as riot police moved in on protesters, according to live feed from the scene. After clearing their way through the crowd in front of the newspaper’s HQ, the officers pushed their way inside the building. “Throw him off the staircase!” one of the officers allegedly shouted, as the raid squad pushed one of the publication’s employees down to the hall, according to a tweet written by a Zaman employee. Zaman Editor-in-Chief Sevgi Akarcesme said that during the raid she was pushed by police as authorities tried to take her out of the building. “A police officer grabbed my phone forcefully while I was broadcasting on Periscope. I’ll sue him when the rule of law is back. Unbelievable!” she tweeted. “This is beyond comprehension! Such a sad day in Turkey!” The daily confirmed that police had gone to the management floor in the building, and were preventing editors from entering their offices. The joualists were shut out of their offices while police allegedly confiscated their cell phones, according to reports on social media. The biggest opposition publication is being accused by the state of alleged links to America-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom the govement accuses of attempting to to, ...ادامه مطلب

SHAFAQNA – Whistleblower Edward Snowden has waed the French people to think twice before giving up their freedoms for increased security. In a message on his Twitter account, Snowden also pointed out that France has passed controversial constitutional reform with over 75 percent of MPs absent. “Abandoning open society for fear of terrorism is the only way to be defeated by it,” Snowden tweeted, referring to the French lawmakers’ decision to pass highly criticized emergency powers. Snowden, a former contractor for the National Security Agency, made inteational headlines in 2013 when he leaked information about the US govement’s secret mass surveillance programs. He currently resides in Russia, where he was granted asylum. Prosecutors in Washington want to try him on charges on treason. One of the most shocking things about the French vote was that when MPs approved the reform by 103 votes to 26, giving the state emergency powers during a security crisis, the National Assembly was mostly empty, with 441 deputies absent out of the total of 577. The need for reforms was raised after the Paris terrorist attacks in November, which killed 130 people. The new measures would enshrine the state of emergency powers in France’s constitution and strip French citizenship from anyone convicted as a terrorist. The bill has now been sent to the French Senate for discussion and approval. That process will begin next month. The measure has been heavily criticized by Amnesty Inteational, European Council of Human Rights and the French Human Rights League. For example, Amnesty Inteational said in a February report that France’s state of emergency has had a “disproportional impact,” adding that French authorities have carried out 3,210 raids and kept around 400 people under house arrest, as well as closing down 12 places of worship. The controversy surrounding the proposal reached a high point when Hollande’s justice minister, Christiane Taubira, resigned last month in protest over strip, ...ادامه مطلب