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Destruction of ISIS more important than removing Assad: says Henry Kissinger

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Ahlul Bayt News Agency – Former US Secretary Of State Henry Kissinger argues that the United States strategy in Syria should focus more on defeating the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist network than removing President Bashar al-Assad.

“The destruction of ISIS is more urgent than the overthrow of Bashar Assad,” the veteran diplomat writes in an article published by the Wall Street Journal, using another acronym for the terror group.

The geopolitical pattern in the Middle East region “is now in shambles” with non-state actors such as ISIL seeking to impose their rule in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen, Kissinger says.

“These conflicting trends, compounded by America’s retreat from the region, have enabled Russia to engage in military operations deep in the Middle East, a deployment unprecedented in Russian history,” he adds.

Kissinger argues that the Russian campaign stems from concerns that the collapse of the current Syrian government could bring ISIL into power in Syria and turn the whole Arab country into “a haven for terrorist operations, reaching into Muslim regions inside Russia’s southern border in the Caucasus and elsewhere.”

American foreign policy, the elderly statesman argues, appears “at odds” with all actors in the region, including “each of the Syrian parties over different objectives.”

The United States has failed to generate effective leverage—political or military—to implement its long-held strategy of removing President Assad from power, he contends. “Nor has the U.S. put forward an alternative political structure to replace Mr. Assad should his departure somehow be realized.”

Russia, he says, merely stepped up to fill the vacuum left by the conflicting US policies.

“Whatever the motivation, Russian forces in the region—and their participation in combat operations—produce a challenge that American Middle East policy has not encountered in at least four decades,” he writes.

Washington accuses Moscow of running a “fundamentally flawed” campaign in Syria that could further escalate the conflict.

The US and its regional allies, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia, have been backing militants fighting the Syrian government.

Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday he will meet with Russian, Saudi and Turkish leaders to discuss a “tangible” solution to the Syria crisis, acknowledging that there is no military solution to the conflict–now in its fifth year.

Kerry said the United States wanted “to try and avoid the complete and total destruction of Syria,” fearing the potential fallout across the region.

“Our fear [is that]… Russia is simply there to prop up Assad,” he said.

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Shiites, Sunnis connects in California Mosque

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Ahlul Bayt News Agency – Building bridges between American Sunnis and Shiites, a California mosque is using art, music and celebrations to bring members of the Muslim community together, bridging a deep gap void between the two sects.

“I think one missing thing … right now, today, is beauty — really paying attention to the beauty of Islam, and its rich history,” California mosque leader Ali Sheikhulislami told npr on Sunday, October 18.

Sheikhulislami, the leader of the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California (ICCNC), was talking about activities being held by his mosque to break down divisions between Sunnis and Shiites.

In its majestic building, ICCNC tries to be a model of harmony between the two sects by hosting plays, open mic nights, painting and ceramics classes.

“Every inch of this building just has a meaning,” manager Azita Sayyah says.

Being not like an average mosque, white, black and Asian people, some in embroidered green Sufi robes, others in black Shiite turbans or flowing white Arab jalabeyas, pack ICCNC.

“It’s a unique experience,” says Ali Saadeghi.

“If you go to a traditional Muslim place, that’s not something that you’re gonna get. It’s more fun, and it’s a good place for my kid and my wife to enjoy.”

The United States is home to a Muslim community of between six to eight million.

A recent survey about mosques in the United States found that %7 of mosques in the country are Shiites.

The survey also showed that %44 of Shiite mosques in the United States opened in the 1990s.

Tolerance

The mosque has been favourable for many visitors, where they found rare harmony between Sunnis and Shiites.

“The unique thing about the American experience is … we are able to come to this country and practice the religion the way we want to, and to do it in a way that we’re tolerant of each other,” said ICCNC’s Ahmed Sheikhulislami.

A similar opinion was shared by Ali Sheikhulislami, the mosque leader, who believes that being far from the Middle East gives room for dialogue.

“We were talking to a friend, and he said, ‘My mother is Sunni and my father is Shiite, so … we call ourselves sushi!'” Sheikhulislami recalled.

“We like that! … We are one; these things should not divide us. We are all humans. We’re all sushi.”

For Salman Mashayekh, an engineer from Santa Clara, infighting between the two sects is unacceptable.

“It’s nonsense, Shiite and Sunni people fighting each other and killing each other,” he said.

“That’s just not something the Prophet would not have wanted.

“We need to work together and sit with each other and listen each other out, and just have our own beliefs and not fight over anything,” Mashayekh added.

High numbers of Shiites have immigrated to the United States following the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Differences between Shiites and Sunnis, however, were little noticed as members of the two sects prayed at the same mosques.

This was attributed to many reasons, including the high costs of building mosques.

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Palestinians visit al-Aqsa despite Israeli tightened measures

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Ahlul Bayt News Agency – Palestinians from Occupied Jerusalem and 1948 Occupied Palestine visited al-Aqsa Mosque on Monday morning in spite of Israeli tightened security measures.

Muslim worshipers confronted over 60 Jewish settlers who attempted to storm al-Aqsa Mosque and managed to enter the Muslims’ holy site despite Israeli restrictions over the Old City of Occupied Jerusalem which have been imposed for weeks.

QPress website revealed that Israeli forces tightened the noose on worshipers at their way into al-Aqsa Mosque and searched them thoroughly, confiscated their IDs and barred many women from entering the Mosque.

Sheikh Husam Abu Lail, second deputy of the chairman of Islamic Movement in 1948 Occupied Palestine, said Israeli threats and measures increases the steadfastness and determination of Palestinians.

Israel has turned into a state of gangs practicing tyranny and murder against the Palestinian people, he underlined.
 
The Islamic Movement leader Sheikh Sami al-Masri pointed out that Palestinians will not stop defending al-Aqsa Mosque and will not tolerate settlers’ incursions into the Muslims’ holy site.

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Zarif Censures Saudi Irresponsibility on Mina Incident

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Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif criticized Riyadh’s handling of situation following a crush of people that killed thousands of Hajj pilgrims in Mina last month, saying the Saudi government did not act responsibly on the incident.

“We feel that the Saudi government and Hajj officials did not deal with the Mina tragedy responsibly and that they failed to take proper measures to save the lives of pilgrims and address the conditions of victims,” Zarif said Tuesday, at the funeral of an Iranian diplomat who lost his life in the incident.

At least 465 Iranians were among the thousands of pilgrims who died in the September 24 crush in Mina, near Mecca. Dozens of Iranian nationals are still unaccounted for in the worst ever Hajj-related tragedy.

Elsewhere in his comments, Zarif said Iran is consulting with other Muslim countries on the disaster and seeks to shed light on the real causes of the incident.

Earlier on Monday, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei called on the Iranian Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization to seriously pursue the case and not allow the tragedy to sink into oblivion.

“This issue should not be forgotten in silence, but should be mooted in the international circles for years, and the Western governments and the organizations claiming (to advocate) human rights should be the target of this move,” the Supreme Leader said.

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Senior Shia scholar: Foreign interventions distanced Muslim states

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Ahlul Bayt News Agency – Grand Ayatollah Mohsen Araki, Secretary General of the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought, in an interview with Pakistani ARY television network highlighted necessity of economic and political security noting that a mutual cooperation of the people and government in the country will lead to prevalence of complete security in Pakistan.
 
He explained his views on the current situation in the Middle East and also role of the world forum for restoring peace in the region noting,” World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought is trying to prevent creation of religious disagreements and this can realize through increasing the ties between different denominations, holding meetings between religious leaders and also dialogues among scholars.”
 
He added,” If there is any difference, world forum makes its best to prevent outbreak of wars or bloodshed.” referring to launching the committee of good office as one of the most important measures by the world forum.
 
According to the cleric the committee of good offices, with more than 40 members among prominent scholars and elites from the world of Islam, has held several meetings in Tehran, Beirut and Istanbul and also has proposed plans for resolution of some clashes in Iraq and Syria.
 
On the mutual ties between Islamabad and Tehran, Ayatollah Araki called the ties as a religious mission hailing the tight historical relations, common culture and religion and also the close ties especially on the borderlines.
 
As the third important field in the mutual ties between Iran and Pakistan, he referred to the capacities for more active economic ties and sufficient and economic energy resources for Pakistan supplied by Islamic Republic of Iran.
 
Professor at Qom Seminary also related on the way for closer ties between Islamic countries noting,” The first possible step for Islamic countries is to prevent the intervention of the arrogant powers and foreign states in their domestic affairs because an important factor for the widening gap between the countries is the intervention of the foreign countries.”
 
“Another step to be taken in this line is the political figures of the Islamic states to meet and propose plans for boosting ties between their countries.” he said.
 
Secretary General of the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought also proposed formation of a union of the Islamic countries so that Muslim states can become a member of that maintaining their political and economic independence.
 
He said once Muslim countries unite, they can solve the issues of Palestine and Kashmir as well as preventing clashes similar to what is happening in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
 
Top scholar called religious and political leaders of all Muslim countries to join the move and take steps for formation of a union of Islamic states.

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Saudis Not Qualified to Comment on Iran’s Regional Role

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Iranian FM Spokeswoman Afkham said the Saudi FM is not qualified to comment on Iran’s regional role when his country has taken a military approach toward current crises in region.

“The Saudi foreign minister [Adel al-Jubeir] whose country has adopted a military, security and extremist approach toward the current regional crises, and has been targeting the neighbor Muslim country of Yemen with relentless bombardment is not qualified to speak of Iran’s regional role,” said Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham on Monday.

Afkham’s remarks came in response to recent comments by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir during his press conference with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Riyadh, who accused Iran of meddling in the affairs of regional countries, also threatening to confront Iran if the Islamic Republic does not give up what he called ‘continuous aggression’ against the kingdom.

“While the international community understands the constructive and stabilizing role of Iran, calling for our further participation, unfortunately the only country who views regional development with a win-lose approach and insists on the exclusion of other countries is Saudi Arabia,” said Afkham, adding that the unconstructive approach is doomed to failure.

“We were hoping that our southern neighbors would put aside such unilateral and unreasonable approaches following the success of the nuclear negotiations [between Iran and the 5+1] and the world’s interest to adopt an approach based on comprehensive dialogs to settle regional issues,” said Afkham, adding some countries were still unable to comprehend the realities of regional situation.

Afkham then touched upon al-Jubeir’s remarks on the future of Syria, saying “such indecent and non-diplomatic remarks about the future of other nations is the mark of political stalling; unfortunately, this view has plagued some regional countries, such as Yemen and Syria, with organized war and extremism.”

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More than one-third of Danish Muslims want Qur’an-based laws

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Nearly 4 out of 10 Danish Muslims think that Denmark’s laws should be at least partly based on the Qur’an, according to a recent survey.

In a poll conducted by Wilke for Jyllands-Posten, 11.3 percent of Danish Muslims said that the Qur’an should serve as the sole basis for Denmark’s laws, while another 26.5 percent said that the nation’s laws should be built upon a mixture of the Qur’an teachings and the Danish constitution.

Just over half, 53.9 percent, said that Denmark’s laws should be solely based on its constitution.

The poll results come just a week after another survey found that 77.2 percent of Danish Muslims agreed that “the Qur’ans instructions should be followed completely”, a marked increase from 2006 when just 62.4 percent agreed.

Jens Peter Frølund Thomsen, a social studies professor at the University of Aarhus who specializes in the relationship between Danes and immigrants, said it is surprising that so many Danish Muslims think that their holy book should be part of the national legal system.

For his part, Radwan Mansour, an Aarhus-based imam, said that he thinks Denmark should be ruled by a mixture of the constitution and the Qur’an, which he argues are not in conflict.

“If this was an Islamic country, it should be the Qur’an. But Denmark is not an Islamic country so we don’t decide than I think it should be both the Qur’an and the constitution. When it comes to justice, the sharing of resources and so on, there is a fine accordance between the two,” he told Jyllands-Posten.

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Prominent Lebanese Sunni cleric cleric hails Ashura as Islamic unity axis

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Ahlul Bayt News Agency – Sheikh Ahmad al Zein, head of the society of scholars in Lebanon, extended his condolences over the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), third Shia Imam, saying that Ashura aimed at defending Islamic ideologies and the holy Qur’an.
 
He said, ”Ashura has undercover lessons of sacrifice. It is in fact a school where knowledge and culture are fully manifested.”
 
Head judge of Sidon also noted Ashura as the day when the message of Islam in institutionalizing true Islam and avoiding religious prejudices as well as boosting Islamic proximity are perfectly shown.
 
Highlighting other messages of Ashura as a turning point in the history of Islam, Sheikh Ahmad al Zein, stressed the increasing demand of the people for occasions like Ashura that have the highest capacity for boosting unity among Muslims.
 
Lebanese cleric referred to the affection of all Islamic denominations for Ahlul Bayt (AS), household of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), and stressed necessity of all Muslims to be liberated from the intrigues calling Ashura as an important axis for the objective.
 
Ashura is the tenth day of Muharram, first month of Muslim lunar year, and the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), third Shia Imam and grandson of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), who was beheaded beside his 72 warrior companions in the battle of Karbala back in 61 AH.

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Imam Khamenei receives family of Martyr General Hamadani

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Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei paid the visit to the house of Genreal Hamedani on Sunday evening and sympathized with his family offering hails and condolences on the martyrdom of the great IRGC commander.

Iran’s Leader, pointing to the devotion and efforts of martyr Hamedani in fields of danger, deemed martyrdom as the ultimate ambition of the combatants in the way of God and said “God keeps the doors of martyrdom open for His devoted servants and it would be a pity if a role model like Hamedani as well as all those who move in the path of God die in a way other than martyrdom.”

Ayatollah Khamenei further reiterated that the unique funeral ceremony of martyr Hamedani in the city of Hamedan was the outward manifestation of Divine reward for his loyalty and added, “the exceptional participation of the public was the result of the attraction and sincerity of the great martyr and the ceremony brought about a good opportunity for the people of Hamedan to once again express their Revolutionary feelings.”

The leader further praised the patience and gratitude of martyr Hamedani’s wife and family pointing that the martyr’s spiritual rewards will be shared with their families as well; “we owe the continuation of the blessing of martyrdom to the same patience and gratitude,” he concluded.

Saudi-Led Coalition Hires Sudanese Soldiers following Heavy Losses in Aden

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The Saudi-led Coalition waging a war on Yemen, hired dozens of Sudanese soldiers in Aden, sources told al-Manar on Sunday.

Soldiers of the Sudanese army along with their vehicles were seen moving in several areas across the southern province of Aden, the sources said.

The sources noted that the move comes after heavy losses were inflicted upon the Emirati force operating in Yemen as part of the coalition.

Yemen has been since March 26 under brutal aggression by Saudi-led coalition. Thousands have been martyred and injured in the attack, with the vast majority of them are civilians.

Riyadh launched the attack on Yemen in a bid to restore power to fugitive president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi who is a close ally to Saudi Arabia.

However, Yemeni army, backed by popular committees and tribal fighter has been responding to the aggression by targeting several Saudi border military posts and cleansing several areas across the country, especially the country’s south, from Hadi and al-Qaeda-linked militias.

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