SHAFAQNA

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) - People of Bahrain protests in 2nd anniversary of Mosques demolished by Saudi troops and mercenaries police of Al-Khalifa . Sheikh Isa Qassim said in in prayer speech today 5-4-2013

Dr.Saeed Al Shehabi said in his twitter account :

source : bahrain.shafaqna.com

End

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) –Five car bombs struck Shia mosques in Baghdad and the disputed northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, killing at least 23 people and wounding dozens, officials have said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Friday's bombings, but the attacks bore the hallmarks of al-Qaeda's Iraq branch.

The group, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, frequently uses car bombs, suicide bombers and coordinated blasts in an effort to sow fear among Shiites and erode their trust in the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Four car bombs hit Shia mosques in the Iraqi capital as worshippers were leaving after Friday prayers, killing 19 people and wounding 72.

First, a parked car exploded in Baghdad's western Jihad neighbourhood, killing seven worshippers and wounding 25, a police officer said.

Another police officer said four people were killed and nearly 20 were wounded in a bombing in eastern Qahira neighbourhood.

Three people died and 15 were wounded in the eastern Zafaraniyah district while yet another car bomb killed five people and wounded 14 in the northeastern Binook neighbourhood.

Three health officials confirmed the causality figures. All officials in Baghdad spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to talk to the media.

In the northern city of Kirkuk, 290km north of Baghdad, a suicide bomber drove his explosive-laden car into a group of worshippers as they were leaving a mosque after Friday prayers, killing three people and wounding up to 70, according to police Colonel Najat Hassan.-www.shafaqna.com/English

Source:AL Jazeera

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – In a statement issued by the Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi to condemn the murders inside the central Damascus Mosque, he warns the Muslims to wake up and take notice. The Grand Ayatollah asked all the unaware Muslims who are mistaken by the lies from the various media about the situation in Syria to wake up. According to Shafaqna, following the dreadful murders in the central Mosque in Damascus, the Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi issued a statement.

The statement said, the Leader of the Friday prayers of the central Mosque in Damascus who was a well-known Mufti of Sunni Muslims in that country together with about 50 other Muslims were martyred by explosives detonated by the terrorists. Also more than100 innocent Muslims were injured and their blood spilt inside the house of Allah whilst praying. Last Friday a dreadful crime happened inside the house of Allah, the central Mosque in Damascus which was rare in its kind. This crime showed that there is no difference between Shia or Sunni, scholar or non-scholar, the house of Allah or anywhere else for terrorists because they do not know anything about Islam and humanity.

Certainly the regimes in Turkey, Saudi and Qatar as well as those in Arab League who are allies with the US and Israel, sharing these bloodsheds and if they believe in judgement day, must answer all these. If any document needed to prove the supporters of terrorists are lying about the Syrian situation, this crime alone is enough. Will the international organisations still stay quiet? We strongly condemn this rare crime and ask the international organisations break their silence about the Syrian situation and involve themselves actively. We also ask all the unaware Muslims who are making mistakes by lies from the various media regarding the situation in Syria to wake up and do not be content with more murders by allies of unbelief (KOFR) who are killing Muslims in the name of Islam.

www.shafaqna.com/english

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Nearly two dozen people have been killed and many others injured in a terrorist explosion inside a mosque in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

According to Syrian sources, a bomber blew himself up inside al-Eman Mosque in the Mazraa neighborhood of the capital on Thursday.

Top Sunni cleric Mohammed Saeed Ramadan al-Bouti, in his 80s, is reported to be among the dead.

The victims are believed to be supporters of President Bashar al-Assad. According to Syria's official news agency SANA, 14 people were killed and 40 others were injured. Some other sources, however, put the death toll at 20.

Foreign-backed militants fighting against the Syrian government also fired mortar shells at a sports stadium in the western city of Idlib. The attack caused only material damage.

Two Syrian civilians were also killed and more than 20 others injured in a terrorist car bombing in the western city of Homs, SANA reported.

Syria has been experiencing unrest for two years and many people, including large numbers of army and security personnel, have been killed in the turmoil.

Several international human rights organizations have accused the foreign-sponsored militant groups of committing war crimes.-www.shafaqna.com/English

Source: Press TV

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – The Collectif contre l'Islamophobie en France reports that in addition to those at Ozoir-La-Ferrière and Besançon, a fourth mosque was the target of an Islamophobic act this weekend: at Meximieux in eastern France. On Saturday mosque officials found an envelope containing slices of ham in the mailbox. When they went to the police station to lodge a complaint, officers refused to register it on the grounds that the letter only contained pork and was not accompanied by a letter with insults or threats.

Hamza Dziri, one of the mosque officials, contacted the CCIF. He was distraught, as this is not the first time acts of hatred have been directed against the mosque. While it was under construction he found stickers on the walls, windows and site gates featuring swastikas and tricolor flags and bearing the name of a mysterious organisation of "patriots".

In January 2012 vandals broke a window and damaged the scaffolding. After that the site was placed under guard by members of the mosque and fifteen days later two vandals had returned, throwing stones at the glass door and breaking it. They escaped by car, but the guard was able to identify the registration number, which enabled the police to arrest the perpetrators. The vandals received suspended prison sentences and had to pay compensation.

With such a history, the CCIF observes, it is not surprising that Hamza Dziri says he is "worried".

The protection of places of worship should not be left solely to the faithful, the CCIF says. Following antisemitic attacks in France, schools and synagogues have been placed under police surveillance. The CCIF concludes: "In the current situation where mosques are the target of Islamophobic acts every week, the competent authorities must urgently put in place a security plan for Muslim places of worship." -www.shfaqna.com/English

Source: Abna

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Praying outside in stifling temperatures above 40C, the Muslim community in South Australia's most populous city of Whyalla are scared to revisit their mosque which was damaged in arson attack last week.

"People from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane come here to live ... and now they're scared," the president of the Whyalla Islamic Society, Bill Brikic, told ABC news on Wednesday, January 23.

“But [the] police told them don't be scared because Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane is worse,” he added noting that the fire has left some of the congregation too scared to return to the mosque.

Starting about 4am last Thursday, the fire caused smoke damage inside the Morris Crescent mosque after fires were lit at the front and back door of the property.

The damage was estimated at between $15,000 and $20,000.

"The front and the back doors have been burnt totally," Hasan Aziz, a spokesman for the community, told News.com.au.

Muslims, who have been in Australia for more than 200 years, make up 1.7 percent of its 20-million population. Islam is the country's second largest religion after Christianity.

In post 9/11 Australia, Muslims have been haunted with suspicion and have had their patriotism questioned.

A 2007 poll taken by the Issues Deliberation Australia (IDA) think-tank found that Australians basically see Islam as a threat to the Australian way of life.

A recent governmental report revealed that Muslims are facing deep-seated Islamophobia and race-based treatment like never before.

Hate Crime

With police treating the fire treated as suspicious, leaders of the Muslim community believe the attack was a "hate crime".

"They put petrol on both of them and they lit it on fire," Aziz, a spokesman for the Muslim community, said.

"The way it's been carried out tells us that it's a targeted crime, a hate crime," he said.

"In a town like Whyalla, of all the places, it's very unlikely for such an act to be carried out.”

Aziz said that the community, which meets twice a day at the mosque, has been forced to pray outside in searing temperatures.

"It's pretty bad," he said.

“We can't carry out any of the prayers, so we've had to do it outside.”

Saddened by the attack, Brikic the president of the Whyalla Islamic Society, called on those responsible to hand themselves into police.

"We wish that bloke, what he done, apologize for that ... and ...[hand] himself ... [into] the police," he said.-www.shfaqna.com/English

Source: On Islam

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – A RM1.5 million mosque will be built in Gaza, Palestine, courtesy of a Malaysian entrepreneur who wishes to remain anonymous.

Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organisations (Mapim) said the contribution from the Kedah businessman would go to the construction of the mosque, which will be located in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza strip.

Mapim executive chief coordinator A. Sani Araby said the groundbreaking for the new mosque was next month.

"The facade will reflect Malaysian architectural features and construction will be divided into eight phases.

"The construction of the mosque is expected to be completed in October," he told a press conference at the Penang Regional Development Authority (Perda) headquarters, here yesterday.

He said a memorandum of understanding to start the project would be signed soon with the authorities in Gaza.

Sani Araby, who was speaking about Mapim's humanitarian activities, said among the proposals were to build and upgrade medical facilities in Gaza.

He said Mapim had channelled RM250,000 to renovate and turn a hospital into a specialist centre.

"Extensive works will be done on each floor so that it can cater to a high number of patients inju-red by drone and mortar shell attacks."

He said Mapim was sponsoring the 38km Perda Ride in northern Seberang Prai on Saturday to raise funds for the needy in Gaza.

Some 700 people, led by state deputy police chief Datuk Abd Rahim Jaafar, will participate in the ride, which starts at 7am.-www.shfaqna.com/English

Source: NST

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Adding to the difficulties facing Muslims in building their worship places in the United States, a new mosque in Bernardsville in New Jersey’s Somerset County is facing growing opposition from neighbors and anti-Islam activists.

“There is always resistance to any mosque,” Yaser ElMenshawy, head of the Islamic Center of Hunterdon County in Flemington, told My Central Jersey website on Sunday, January 13.

“That’s why Muslim groups spend a lot of time when they look for a mosque to find a project that can’t be turned down based on the law.”

Seeking to build a place to fulfil their religious duties, the Muslim community in Bernardsville hired an architect to design their new mosque.

They wanted a building that would serve its purpose as a house of worship and fit into the colonial and bucolic character of the township’s Liberty Corner.

The result was outstanding, given that the 4,252-square-foot building with white siding and a gray roof could be mistaken for a large home.

But many residents are not as appreciative.

“When they look at this building, all they see are the letters M-O-S-Q-U-E,” said architect Daniel Lincoln, who also is president of the Historical Society of the Somerset Hills.

The resistance meeting Muslims groups in New Jersey is not new.

In 2011, the Al Falah Center of Somerset County bought the former Redwood Inn restaurant in Bridgewater to build its own mosque.

As in Bernards, a mosque was a permitted use in that township’s land-use laws.

But months later, the Township Council changed its zoning laws in an effort to stymie the proposal. That case is now part of a continuing lawsuit in federal courts.

During a hearing on Bernardsville’s proposal Tuesday evening, mosque attorney Vincent T. Bisogno suggested that the Planning Board may be discriminating against his client after the board doubled the parking requirement for the proposal from 50 to 110, a claim denied by officials.

“I'm not seeing any unfairness or inequity,” Planning Board Chairwoman Carol Bianchi said.

“We are just trying to get through the testimony to make a good decision.”

Anti-Muslim Prejudice

Lawyers cite anti-Muslim prejudice as a main reason behind the opposition to the mosque.

“There is no doubt it’s because it’s a mosque,” ElMenshawy said.

“It’s part of the terrain nowadays.”

One of the most vocal opponents of the Bernards project is Lori Caratzola, a Minuteman Court resident who lives nearly 2.3 miles away from the proposed mosque property.

Though Caratzola focuses on technical issues during Planning Board meetings, on the internet there is no question she dislikes Islam.

At her profile titled GlobalInfidel.tv at a social networking site, her only listed “friend” is Eric Allen Bell, a filmmaker who compared Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) to a rapist during an interview with Fox News last summer.

Khurrum Ali, civil rights director for the state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said there is little Muslim leaders can do about that.

“We can try to educate those individuals that there is nothing to fear and we can try to educate them about Islam,” he said.

Since 9/11, US Muslims, estimated between six to eight million, have become sensitized to an erosion of their civil rights, with a prevailing belief that America was targeting their faith.

In the last five years, there has been "anti-mosque activity" in more than half of the US states, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

At least 18 mosque projects — from Mississippi to Wisconsin — have found foes who battle to stop them from seeing light citing different pretexts, including traffic concerns and fear of terrorism.

Even more, some mosques were vandalized including a 2011 Wichita mosque arson case for which a $5,000 reward is being offered.

In multicultural New York, a proposed mosque near Ground Zero site has snowballed into a national public and political debate, with opponents arguing that the Muslim building would be an insult to the memory of the 9/11 victims.

Advocates, however, say that the mosque would send a message of tolerance in 9/11-post America.-www.shfaqna.com/English

Source: On Islam

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Muslims in Tampa city on the west coast of Florida are overjoyed with the community’s acceptance for their new mosque which was widely welcomed as the only mosque in the area.

"Contrary to how some people may think, our country and our community is amazing with how accommodating people are," Mahmud Ahmed, a New Tampa resident and a member of the Islamic Society of New Tampa (ISONET), told Tampa Bay Online on Thursday, January 3.

A devout Muslim, Ahmed was feels fortunate to live in a community that respect religious differences.

He also is gratified with how tolerant the greater New Tampa community has been in accepting members of the Islamic faith and of the Dar-us-Salaam mosque.

The 7,500-square-foot mosque opened in August to be the first mosque in the area.

Set on a 7-acre site, the $1.6 million house of worship was paid for in full by donations from members of the ISONET as well as other local Muslim worshippers.

The mosque, built to accommodate 800 people, is open for prayer five times a day.

Tampa welcoming atmosphere was not the same in different American states.

Requests by Muslim residents to build mosques have repeatedly been denied on different grounds ranging from local opposition to zoning problems.

But Muslims see the repeated denials of their worship places as a reflection of the growing animosity against their minority since the 9/11 attacks.

In the last five years, there has been "anti-mosque activity" in more than half of the US states, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

At least 18 mosque projects — from Mississippi to Wisconsin — have found foes who battle to stop them from seeing light citing different pretexts, including traffic concerns and fear of terrorism.

Even more, some mosques were vandalized including a 2011 Wichita mosque arson case for which a $5,000 reward is being offered.

In multicultural New York, a proposed mosque near Ground Zero site has snowballed into a national public and political debate, with opponents arguing that the Muslim building would be an insult to the memory of the 9/11 victims.

Advocates, however, say that the mosque would send a message of tolerance in 9/11-post America.

Peaceful

The leaders of Dar-us-Salaam, which in Arabic means House of Peace, hope to foster a better understanding of Islam and create a positive image of its followers.

"Islam means peace and submission and if you want to build a peaceful, cohesive society you need to understand the religion," said Ahmed, who emigrated from Pakistan 36 years ago.

The new mosque was also intended to fight anti-Muslim misconceptions which have been viral since 9/11 attacks.

"Unfortunately, however, there is a misconception by some that Muslims are terrorists," he said.

"But there are bad apples everywhere."

Since 9/11, US Muslims, estimated between six to eight million, have become sensitized to an erosion of their civil rights, with a prevailing belief that America was targeting their faith.

A report by CAIR, the University of California and Berkeley's Center for Race and Gender said that Islamophobia in the US is on the rise.

A US survey had also revealed that the majority of Americans know very little about Muslims and their faith.

A recent Gallup poll had found that 43 percent of Americans Nationwide admitted to feeling at least “a little” prejudice against Muslims.- www.shfaqna.com/English

Source: On Islam

A severed pig's head was left at the doors of a Mosque in the town of Leicester in England on Boxing Day.

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Two men and a woman have been arrested by Police after a severed pig's head was left at the doors of a Mosque in the town of Leicester in England on Boxing Day. The animal head was found by worshippers at 7:30 am in front of the main door. Moulana Mohammed Lockhat, the Imam of the As Salaam Mosque, said “We arrived to open up the centre for prayers and found the pig's head; we were deeply shocked and saddened.”

The Imam added “It had probably come from a butcher and is clearly an act of deep, religious discrimination against us. It is an attack on our culture. It is a very worrying turn of events and we are clearly not welcome it and it upsets us. We still had our prayers on Wednesday morning and putting a pig's head outside isn't going to change things, except maybe make us more determined than ever to carry on.”

The Imam of the Mosque also said “We are sad that we cannot work together as a community. We have been part of this community for five years and we do not understand why we cannot be accepted. We would love to, we've been trying to. The protests are supposed to be directed at the council, but on many occasions they haven't been. It has been quite intimidating for many of our members who fear for their own safety. We have had pictures of our children and homes taken and been followed home and threatened with violence. It was going to boil over at some point and people fear for their physical safety after this deeply distressing incident.”

Police confirmed that a 40 year old woman and two men, aged 37 and 46 were arrested in connection with the racist incident. Police Spokesperson said “The only people using the community centre on Wednesday were from a local Muslim group and it's easy to draw the conclusion that the pig's head was meant for them, and is the reason we believe this to be religiously motivated.”

The Mosque has recently become the focus of a row involving the British National Party (BNP) which is known as anti-Islam party in the UK. In recent months, Muslims going to and from prayers at the venue have had to walk past angry protesters who don't want the group to use the property. Around 200 people, including members of the BNP attended a demonstration in last August to oppose the Muslims using the site for prayers.

www.shafaqna.com/english

Source: Daily Mail