Books on Imam Hussein (AS) Uprising to be Published in English

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Director of the center Abdel Amir Qurayshi said a number of books on this theme are being translated into English by the center, Buratha news agency reported.

They include late Sheikh Muhammad Mahdi Shamseddin’s work “Imam Hussein (AS) Uprising in Public Opinions” which is a historical analysis of the uprising of Imam Hussein (AS), he said.

According to Qurayshi, the books will be distributed in different countries of the world.

Imam Hussein (AS) rose up against the tyrannical rule of Yazid who had trampled upon Islamic principles. The Imam, along with 72 of his faithful companions, was martyred in the Battle of Karbala in the year 680 A.D.

Ever since, his heroic uprising has inspired Muslims, especially Shia Muslims, and taught them the lesson of bravery, resistance, steadfastness and upholding the truth.

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70 books on “Iranian Sacred Defense” heading to Frankfurt Fair

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Speaking to IBNA, Amir Shahriar Aminian stated that more than 80 publishers are members of the Sacred Defense Books Publishers’ Society which has established a special office for international affairs to promote the culture of the Sacred Defense.

“In its first participation at Frankfurt International Book Fair, the Sacred Defense Books Publishers’ Society simply introduced a number of works and writers who were active in this field, but now we will attend this event to showcase about 70 translated books books which have been successful or received awards at various book fairs,” he said.

“We will have the author of the book ‘The Last Sunday’ Masoumeh Ramhormozi, as the special guest of iran’s stand on the first day of Frankfurt International Book Fair as the English translation of her book we also be unveiled,” Aminian added.

As well as ‘The Last Sunday’, the Arabic and English translations of two books, ‘The Secret of Red Gem’ (the memories of General Shahbazi authored by Hamid Hesam) and ‘Need’ (Niaz), written by Ghasem Ali Farasat are among the other fish noted works to be showcased at FBF.

The 66th Frankfurt Book Fair will run from October 8 to 12.

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Seminar on Qadir Planned in Ethiopia

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The Iranian center has invited a number of intellectuals and scientific and religious figures of the country to participate and present speeches at the program.

“Investigation of historical documents on Qadir ”, “status of Qadir in Sunni sources” and “the status of Qadir in Shia sources” will be the themes of papers to be presented in the seminar.

Sheikh Muhammad Ibrahim, leader of Qadiriyya School of thought in Ethiopia will present a poem on the event of Qadir.

The honorary guest of the seminar will be Haj Kamel Sharif, researcher and history expert and head of Abadar Islamic School.

Iranian ambassador to Ethiopia will also participate in the program and present a speech on the importance of Qadir.

According to the latest 2007 national census, Islam is the second-most widely practiced religion in Ethiopia after Christianity, with over 25 million (or 34%) of Ethiopians adhering to Islam.

Qadir is a historical event which happened in the year 632 A.D.

Shortly before his demise, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) undertook a farewell pilgrimage. It has been recorded by numerous historians that on their return journey, he commanded all the Muslims to gather in a place called Qadir Khum so that he may deliver a crucial sermon. Then the prophet declared Imam Ali’s (AS) guardianship as his own. He said: Whoever I am the master of; this Ali is the master of.

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Netanyahu compares Iran, ISIL and Hamas to Germany’s Nazis

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Israel’s prime minister has warned the United Nations that a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a far greater threat than the armed group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which he compared to the Palestinian group Hamas.

Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday, Benjamin Netanyahu described Iran, ISIL and Hamas as part of a single team, and compared them all to Germany’s Nazis in World War II.

“The Nazis believed in a master race, the militant Islamists believe in a master faith,” Netanyahu claimed. “They just disagree who among them will be the master of the master faith.”

“Make no mistake, [ISIL] must be defeated, but to defeat [ISIL] and leave Iran as a threshold nuclear power is to win the battle and lose the war.” Netanyahu claimed again.

He also ridiculously claimed that ISIL and Hamas are “branches of the same poisonous tree” and likened Israel’s deadly bombings of Gaza to US-led airstrikes against ISIL in Iraq and Syria.

Iran, which is negotiating with Western powers to end economic sanctions, has strongly rejected allegations that it is developing the capability to produce atomic weapons. Iran Supreme Leader also said that it is forbidden in Islam to produce atomic weapons and we never do it.

Netanyahu is expected to raise the same concerns when he meets with US President Barack Obama on Wednesday.

In his speech, Netanyahu claimed “Iran’s nuclear military capabilities must be fully dismantled” adding that the goal of a charm offensive by Iran’s “smooth talking president and foreign minister” was to get international sanctions lifted “and remove the obstacles to Iran’s path to the bomb”.

He twice referred to the “Islamic State of Iran,” which would appear to be a deliberate play on the country’s official name – the Islamic Republic of Iran – and Islamic State, which is often referred to as ISIL or ISIS.

Netanyahu referred to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s speech to the 193-nation General Assembly last week, in which he accused the West and its allies of nurturing ISIL.

Rouhani said he supported efforts to combat ISIL, a Salafi, Wahhabi armed group that views predominantly Shias, Sunnis and Christians as heretical, though he said it should be handled by the region, not countries outside the Middle East.

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Renowned Kashmiri Shia leader ‘Molvi Iftikhar Ansari’ passes away

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Renowned Kashmiri Shia leader and politician Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, passed away here Tuesday morning in Indian capital New Delhi, leaving his multitude of followers in shock and grief.

Molvi Iftikhar was diagnosed with cancer last year. A close aide of the Peoples Democratic Party politician told Kashmir Dispatch that Ansari lost the battle to liver cirrhosis  during the Tuesday night.

He was shifted to his flooded Qamarwari residence ‘Darul Jawad’ from his daughters home in Zadibal Sunday night sparking speculations about his deteriorating condition.

Ansari who was a lawmaker representing Pattan in North Kashmir had been recently shifted to New Delhi hospital. 

His aide told Dispatch that he would be buried in Zaedbal in Srinagar.

Thousands of people were converging at his residence since early today, reports said.

Molvi Ansari had succeeded his father Molvi Muhammad Jawad as president of All Jammu and Kashmir Shia Association in 1962. He was earlier a member of National Conference and Congress.

He was thrice the target of unsuccessful assassination attempts. In June 2000 Ansari escaped the explosion of a landmine while addressing a religious congregation at Gund Khwaja Qasim. The blast killed twelve of his followers. On 1 September 2000 Ansari was injured by an IED explosion that killed two policemen and a driver. Police suspected Hizbul Mujahideen.

He was currently the vice president of Peoples Democratic Party.














Bahrain court gives life sentences to 9 protesters

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A court in Bahrain has sentenced nine anti-regime activists to life in prison and revoked their citizenship.

All nine convicts were implicated in the case of allegedly smuggling weapons and explosives by sea.

This is the latest in a series of convictions that the Al Khalifa regime has imposed against protesters, including prominent rights activists.

Dozens of Bahrainis including politicians, academics and civilians both at home and abroad have been also deprived of their citizenship.

A Bahraini appeals court on September 21 upheld an earlier ruling that handed five-year imprisonment sentences to nine Shia activists.

The defendants, among them a photojournalist and an online activist, were convicted of calling for the downfall of the despotic Al Khalifa regime.

The Manama regime has adopted oppressive measures to silence the people demanding an end to monarchy in the country.

The Saudi-backed Manama regime has detained hundreds of anti-government activists as part of its brutal crackdown on popular dissent.

Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others injured in the Manama regime’s crackdown on peaceful anti-regime rallies since 2011.

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Randy Short: Yemenis should never trust US, Saudi Arabia

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A prominent political commentator says the Yemeni people should never trust the United States and its regional ally Saudi Arabia and should not consider them honest power brokers.

Randy Short made the remark in an exclusive interview with Press TV on Sunday while commenting on a recent power-sharing deal between the Yemeni government and Ansarullah revolutionaries.

“How can the Saudis be seen as honest brokers as much as they have history of being on wrong side of or on the opposite side of anything they see as Shias. Even within Saudi Arabia, they oppress, kill and imprison and torture leadership of the Shia community, which forms one-third of the population,” Short said.

He added that the Saudis don’t want any representation of Shias in any part of the government.

On Saturday, the Ansarullah activists, also known as Houthis, signed the accord as part of a comprehensive agreement with pro-government Salafist Islah party and other parties.

The deal includes the formation a new inclusive and representative government with a non-partisan premier.

Short said the Houthi protesters shouldn’t return home unless they make sure that the deal is not hijacked by the Saudi monarchy and that their rightful demands are met.

The analyst also added that Saudis and other Arab monarchies of the Persian Gulf region have been brutalizing the Shia Muslims and violating their basic rights in recent years.

Short went on to say that Washington and Riyadh have inflicted huge sufferings on the Yemeni people over the past decades.

He also concluded that Washington created militant groups such as al-Qaeda, and the ISIL “just like cookies in a factory” to advance its agenda in the Mideast region.

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15 Houthi Shia killed in Yemen suicide attack

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At least 15 Shia Houthi fighters were killed in a suicide car bombing in Yemen’s central province of Marib on Sunday, security and tribal sources said.

They were preparing for a patrol on the highway linking Marib to the capital Sanaa when an Al Qaeda member carried the attack against them, sources said, adding that about 20 people were wounded in the explosion.

The Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) claimed the attack in a statement posted on its website and vowed more attacks against the Houthi group in the future.

Dozens of people were killed in sporadic clashes between the Houthi fighters and Saudi-funded Al Qaeda militants in Yemen’s southern regions in the past few weeks.

The Houthis, based in the country’s far north, tightened their control in Sanaa and started expanding in the southern regions after signing a ceasefire deal with the government last week.

However, security in the Arab country deteriorated as clashes paralysed the central government.

On Saturday night, the US embassy in Sanaa was attacked by a rocket which wounded five security guards. The AQAP claimed responsibility for the attack.

The US administration Thursday ordered a reduced diplomatic presence in Yemen and warned citizens against travel to the Arab country, citing “changing” and “unpredictable” security situation there.

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Shiite Prayer leader shot and injured in Peshawar

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PESHAWAR: A Shia man was shot and injured on Dalazak Road in the jurisdiction of Hashtnagari police station on Sunday afternoon. Police said Mujeeb Ali alias Hadiul Hassan, a resident of Orakzai Agency, was a prayer leader and worked as a schoolteacher in Chamkani.

“He went out with his children on Sunday and was shot in the shoulder,” said an official of the police station, adding that the incident took place near the railway lines in Hashtnagri.

“We have registered an FIR. He belongs to the Shia sect and the attack could be sectarian violence, but we are still investigating,” he said. Target killings have been on the rise in the provincial capital.

Bank employee Ali Raza was shot dead near the main gate of his residence in Hayatabad Phase 1 on Thursday. Police claimed this was a sectarian attack as he was a prominent Shia.

On September 17, Ali Haider, an employee of Peshawar Central Prison was also shot dead in Sarki, near Shah Qabool police station. He also belonged to the same community.

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Bahrain: Human Rights Groups Condemn Increase in UK Arms Sales to Bahrain

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London—Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB), the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) and Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) strongly condemn the United Kingdom’s recent decision to increase the sale of arms to Bahrain. Furthermore, we raise serious concerns that the escalating arms trade and deepening of military ties between an ostensible defender of democracy and a government bent on suppressing the democratic will of its people undermines the international community’s cries of deep concern over the situation in Bahrain.

“The British government needs to seriously rethink its policy towards supplying arms to the Government of Bahrain. We’ve seen in the past that the Bahraini government is willing to use these weapons on its own people; what’s to stop them from doing so again?” said Nabeel Rajab, co-founder of BCHR.

Contradicting its public support for human rights, the U.K. has quietly brokered arms deals with Bahrain for years. These transactions have actually increased since Bahrain’s crackdown on the democratic protest movement which started in February 2011. Since then, the U.K. has supplied the Bahraini government with £69,726,115 in direct military and dual-use assistance. In contrast, from 2008 through the first month of 2011 Bahrain received roughly £16 million in UK military support.

“The UK government is not just silent in the face of Bahrain’s ongoing human rights abuses: it is actively enabling repression by whitewashing the regime and giving it practical and moral support with arms sales,” said Sarah Waldron, Campaign Coordinator for CAAT.

The rise of the Islamic State has provided the U.K. with a pretext to strengthen its relationship with Manama, leading discussions to establish a new British military base in Bahrain and to increase its military presence in the island nation.

“We have seen how the presence of the United States Fifth Fleet has shielded the Bahraini government from international pressure,” said ADHRB Executive Director Husain Abdulla. “As demonstrated by the United States’ recent diplomatic struggles with Bahrain, if the U.K. thinks that arms deals will provide them with a regional partner or grant them leverage over Bahrain’s ruling elite, they are mistaken.”

Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, BIRD’s Advocacy Director, stated, “We are deeply troubled by the U.K. government’s efforts to tighten its military bonds with Bahrain. At a time when the international community is seeking to pressure the Bahraini government into ending its considerable human rights abuses, a unilateral action like this will only empower its authoritarian rulers.”

ADHRB, BCHR, BIRD and CAAT call on the United Kingdom to immediately end its arms trade with Bahrain, to cancel any current contracts.

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