More than 2400 Russians fighting for ISIS in Syria, Iraq

/in /by

More than 2,400 Russian nationals have joined the ranks of ISIS extremist group in Syria and Iraq, Moscow revealed on Friday.

The First Deputy Director of Federal Security, Sergei Smirnov, said on Friday that of the 3,000 Central Asian nationals “at least 2,400 are Russians”.

Smirnov told reporters in Moscow that the ongoing influx of migrants into Europe “poses a potentially great threat to Russia”.

“The assertion that Moscow’s support negatively impacts the situation in Syria –and the flow of refugees in particular– is not true. This is due to the expansion of ISIS in the region,” Smirnov said.

The statements of the Russian official come days after TASS reported that at least 170 Russian members of ISIS have been killed during battles in Syria.

According to the CIA, some 30,000 militants drawn from over 80 countries are fighting for the ISIS extremist group.

terrorists have joined ISIS coming from Saudi Arabia, Morocco, France, UK, Germany, Russia, Canada and the United States, among other countries.

/257

UNICEF: Boko Haram violence displaces 1.4 million children

/in /by

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said Friday the number of attacks by Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria and neighboring countries has risen, and half a million children have had to flee to safety in the past five months, bringing the total number of displaced children in the region to 1.4 million.

“Each of these children running for their lives is a childhood cut short,” said Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa, in a statement.

“It’s truly alarming to see that children and women continue to be killed, abducted and used to carry bombs,” he added.

UNICEF, together with governments and partners in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, is increasing its operations to assist thousands of children and their families in the region with access to safe water, education, counselling and psychosocial support, as well as vaccinations and treatment for severe acute malnutrition.

The agency’s work in the region is almost 70 percent underfunded, having received only 32 percent of the $50.3 million needed for humanitarian efforts in 2015. Because of this, over 124,000 children in the conflict-torn area have not received measles vaccinations, more than 83,000 lack access to safe water, and over 208,000 are not in school.

“With more refugees and not enough resources, our ability to deliver lifesaving assistance on the ground is now seriously compromised,” said Fontaine.

“Without additional support, hundreds of thousands of children in need will lack access to basic health care, safe drinking water and education,” he added.

/257

ISIS abducts 10 Iraqi Muslim preachers for not pledging allegiance

/in /by

Members of the Daesh Takfiri militant group have reportedly abducted 10 Muslim preachers and religious scholars in Iraq’s northern province of Kirkuk.

A local source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Daesh members kidnapped the religious figures from the town of Hawijah, located about 282 kilometers (175 miles) north of the capital, Baghdad, after the men refused to pledge allegiance to the terrorist group’s leader, Ibrahim al-Samarrai aka Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The source added that the fate and whereabouts of the abductees remain unknown.

Separately, Daesh Takfiris have flagellated a young man in front of a large number of onlookers in downtown Mosul, located some 400 kilometers (248 miles) north of Baghdad, after the victim shaved off his beard.

An informed source, who asked not to be named, said Daesh has vowed tougher punishments, among them hefty fine, for those who shave their beard.

Meanwhile, Commander of the Iraqi Federal Police Force Lieutenant General Raed Shaker Jawdat said 16 Daesh terrorists were killed and six others injured as security personnel lobbed a barrage of rockets at their hideout in Albu Murad area, which lies east of Anbar’s provincial capital city of Ramadi, on Friday.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by gruesome violence ever since Daesh terrorists began their campaign of terror in the country in June 2014.

The militants have been committing vicious crimes against all ethnic and religious communities in Iraq, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians and others.

/257

Iranian President: “Death to America” Slogan Is Condemnation US Policy, Not People

/in /by

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said that “Death to America” slogan chanted by Iranian people is a condemnation of the US policy, not the American people.

“This slogan that is chanted is not a slogan against the American people. Our people respect the American people. The Iranian people are not looking for war with any country.” Rouhani said in a Friday interview with the CBS “60 Minutes” due to be broadcast on Sunday.

“But, at the same time, the policies of the United States have been against the national interests of Iranian people — it’s understandable that people will demonstrate sensitivity to this issue,” the Iranian president added.

“When the people rose up against the Shah, the United States aggressively supported the Shah until the last moments. In the eight-year war with Iraq, the Americans supported Saddam (Hussein),” he further said.

“People will not forget these things. We cannot forget the past, but at the same time our gaze must be towards the future,” Rouhani added.

/257

American Muslim Family Dedicate Quran and Sahifa Sajjadiya to Astan Quds Razavi

/in /by

Deputy of Treasury of Handwritten Manuscripts of Organization of Libraries, Museums, and Center of Deeds of Astan Quds Razavi declaring this report added, “These exquisite manuscripts belong to 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries of hijrah and enjoy a special value from the artistic point of view.”

“One of Qur’ans belonging to the 12th century of hijrah enjoys the Indian-style- Kashmir branch- Tazhib and artistic elements and the premium calligraphy. The two initial, the two middle, and the two ending pages of this Qur’an are fully Tazhib-worked. This Tazhib is in the shape of bergamot and head bergamot decorated with Cathay flowers drawn on a gilded and light azure background”, Hujjat al-Islam Muhammad Hassan Nurinia stated.

Noting that this Qur’an has also Persian translation, he added, “Qur’anic verses have been scribed by black ink on a gold-covered background and the Persian translation has been written below each verse in red Nastaliq script.”

“It is 13 * 23 cm. scribed in Naskh script on 259 Kashmiri pale yellow pages in 16 lines per sheet”, he added.
“Another Qur’an belongs to 11th century of hijrah scribed in premium Naskh”, he described the second dedicated Qur’an.

Deputy of Treasury of Handwritten Manuscripts of Organization of Libraries, Museums, and Center of Deeds of Astan Quds Razavi described also the third Qur’an, “It belongs to 12th century of hijrah scribed in Naskh script in 13-line sheets where the first, the seventh, and the thirteenth lines in each page bear the headline font.”

Nurinia also referred to the translated Sahifeh Sajjadiyeh with the narration of Najm al-Din Alavi and reiterated, “This manuscript has been scribed in 1232 A.H., Shaban by Hassan ibn-i Ali ibn-i Quli Sultan.”
Describing the tabulation of this manuscript as decorated with gold and colors, he said, “This work also bears supplements by Allameh Majlesi.”

Dr. Sayed Musa Reza Ja’fari Mousavi, the New York-residing Indian specialist doctor, expressed happiness with dedicating these hereditary exquisites and recounted his main reason for doing such a benevolent action seeing the high quantity of dedicated and endowed manuscripts and objects in the Treasury of Handwritten Manuscripts and also in the central museum of this organization in his former travel to Mashhad.

/257

Muslims should not keep silent toward aggression on al-Aqsa Mosque

/in /by

Ayatollah Nouri Hamedani said on Saturday that Muslims must avoid keeping silent toward Israeli aggression on al-Aqsa Mosque and Saudi bombardment on Yemen.

Theological schools, Ulema and religious leaders will condemn desecration of al-Aqsa Mosque by the Zionists.

They believe that the Saudi aggression on the oppressed people of Yemen is the same as the crimes and atrocities of the Zionists in Gaza, said Ayatollah Hamedani.

Al-Aqsa Mosque belongs to all Muslims and the Zionist regime wants to occupy it through a savage move, he said.

It is the duty of all Muslims to resist to the Zionist regime and its allies, said Ayatollah Hamedani adding that world Muslims should exercise vigilance and avoid keeping mum in dealing with the issue.

The Zionist forces stormed al-Aqsa Mosqu on Friday during which a number of Palestinians were injured or arrested.

Referring to deterioration of humanitarian situation in Yemen due to the war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Saudi government in Yemen, the religious leader said that the Saudi regime has proved its illegitimacy and in fact it has unveiled its real face to the world public opinion.

Islam commands all Muslims not to keep mum toward tyrannical powers and they are duty-bound to stand up to the tyrants, said Ayatollah Nouri Hamedani.

/257

Britain’s Labor Party Leader Blames West over Emergence of ISIL Terrorist Group

/in /by

Speaking in an interview with the Middle East Eye, Corbyn said that the ISIL is, in part, the product of western interventions in the Middle East.

The Labor leader said the ISIL terrorist group didn’t come from nowhere.

“The London policy of supply Riyadh with weapons has been a mistake,” the anti-war politician underscored.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Corbyn said that the UK would be much safer if it stopped following the US foreign policy.

He further added that the western efforts to bomb Syria would “create more mayhem”.

“The ISIL terrorist group should be isolated and the other parties in the region should grow more united to eradicate the ISIL,” Corbyn further added.

A week ago, Veteran far-left lawmaker Jeremy Corbyn won the leadership election of the UK Labor Party after obtaining over 59 percent of votes in the first round.

Sixty-six-year-old Corbyn has been widely referred to as one of the most “rebellious” Labor members of parliament. In 1984, Corbyn was arrested outside the South African embassy for violating a protest ban during apartheid times. He had voted against Britain’s participation in the Iraq war, criticized ex-Labor leader Miliband for too much austerity, and had repeatedly spoke out against renewing the British Trident nuclear deterrent infrastructure.

Corbyn is also the chairman of the Stop the War Coalition.

The leadership race was triggered by Labor leader Ed Miliband’s resignation, after his party garnered only 232 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons, the lower house of British parliament, at the May 7 general election. The Conservatives won 331 seats, securing a majority government.

/149

Syria: Cautious Calm in Kefraya, Foaa as Popular Committees Foil Militant Attack

/in /by

Cautious calm prevails over the vicinity of the towns of Kefraya and Al-Foaain  Idlib countryside after popular committees thwarted an armed attack by Al-Nusra Front, the so-called Turkestan Islamic Party, Jund al-Aqsa and others from Osbkih and Chechen nationalities.

The insurgent attack was launched on Friday afternoon by pounding Kefraya and Foaa with hundreds of shells followed by a failed attempt to break through the defense lines of the People’s Committees.

The clashes are considered the deadliest in the region since the imposition of the blockade on the besieged villages in which the insurgents used booby-trapped machines to break the first lines of defense of the popular committees, but these attacks were aborted and dozens of them were killed and wounded. 

The militants’ corpses were still on the battlefield. The committees also destroyed three tanks, five IED machines, a BMP and several machines armed with 23 machine guns.

/149

Takfiri militants execute 56 Syrian army soldiers at captured airbase / Photos

/in /by

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a pro-opposition monitor based in the UK with a network of activists on the ground, confirmed the executions on Saturday, raising the death toll on the government side to 71 loyalists, according to SOHR head Rami Abdul Rahman.

Abu al-Duhur, a strategic military airport located 30 miles southeast of Idlib city, had been besieged by opposition forces for more than two years.

It was the last remaining government military stronghold in Idlib province, which was overrun by a loose coalition of Islamist factions called the Army of Conquest in a ferocious campaign last March.

Nine days ago, the Army of Conquest, as well as al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra and the Turkistan Islamic Party, launched an attack on the base during an hours-long sandstorm.

With air defences crippled due to low visibility, militants broke through the defensive perimeter and killed dozens of government soldiers while taking others captive.

Syrian pro-government media had confirmed the fall of the airport, but insisted the soldiers protecting the base had withdrawn safely.

/149

Indian Muslims should first watch the film "Muhammad" then judge it

/in /by

By: Taran N Khan

Ahlul Bayt News Agency – Celebrated Iranian director Majid Majidi, whose film Muhammad: The Messenger of God has landed in trou ble in India -earning him and its music director AR Rahman a fatwa from a Mumbai-based Sunni organisation -has strongly defended the film, Rahman, and the need to present Islam in a new light.

In an exclusive interview to Taran N Khan for Mumbai Mirror, Majidi, known across the world for his moving portraits of childhood, like the acclaimed Children of Heaven and The Colour of Paradise, said he is surprised that people have raised objections, even demanded a ban, without watching the movie.

Mumbai-based Raza Academy has objected to physical representation of the Prophet, which many Muslims consider taboo, in Majidi’s movie, and demanded that Rahman read the kalmas again and re-solemnise his marriage to make amends. Last week, the group wrote to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, seeking a ban on the film. Some clerics at Egypt’s Al Azhar University too have sought a ban.

Speaking extensively about how the film, first of a planned trilogy, was made and the many hurdles it faced, the director clarified that at no point in the film is the Prophet’s face revealed. “You only see his hands and feet in the cradle as a baby, and as a child from the back,” he said.

Referring to Rahman as one of the best musicians in the world, Majidi said that apart from his creativity, the other most important thing for him was that Rahman is an observant Muslim. “And so I thought he can touch the spirit of the film better than anyone else.”

Majidi said even when they were recording for the film with an orchestra in Berlin, Rahman would take breaks to offer his prayers.

The film is set in the sixth century and made on a budget of around $35 million, Iran’s most expensive production yet. It is also only the second major film to take on the subject, after the 1977 The Message by Moustapha Akkad.Stressing on the need for a new film on the Prophet, Majidi said there have been around 200 films made on Jesus Christ and around 120 on Moses. “Even the other prophets have nearly 70 films made on them.There are 42 films made on the Buddha. For the prophet of Islam, there are only two. I would invite all the religious figures who have condemned the film to first watch it, including the leaders in India. I am sure if they see it with honesty and without pre-judgement, they will love the film.”

What was the idea behind making Muhammad: The Messenger of God? What is the main message of this film?

In recent years, there have been many wrong interpretations of Islam in the Western world. They have made very harsh references to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad, for example through the 2005 cartoons in Denmark. At the same time, in Islamic countries, we have seen the rise of extremist groups like Taliban and more recently the Daesh (IS), who have performed acts of terrible violence. They have also created a very horrible image and imagination of Islam in the eyes of the world. All these actions, I feel, are not related to Islam or to the Prophet Muhammad. They are just taking advantage of the name of Islam. I decided to make this film to give the right information and interpretation, and correct the image of Islam. The real idea of Islam is kindness and morality, and respect for human values. If I were to put the film’s message in one sentence, it is to show that Islam is the religion of kindness, peace and love.

What were the key challenges you faced while making the film?

For making a film of this scale, there were many problems of administration and logistics that had to be overcome. About 40 per cent of the story takes place in Mecca in the 6th century. So we had to recreate the city to what it would have been 1400 years ago.Added to that was the problem that we didn’t have enough sources, not even paintings from that period to help us in this process. We tried to make the location as historically accurate as possible. And now the location can be used by other Islamic countries to make their own productions. (A large part of the film was shot at a specially constructed location called `Prophet Muhammad Cinematic City’, 80 km from Tehran).

Besides this, in other locations we had problems with constructions, with providing costumes and animals, transporting elephants and handling the huge number of people on the shoot, as some days we had nearly 3000 extras present on the site.

On the other hand, we benefited from some wonderful collaborations with people from across the world, including Italy, the USA, England, Germany, India, Serbia and so on. While the film was an Iranian production, it saw a creative collaboration of artists from different countries. So it was a very difficult process, but everything went well!

Who was the audience you had in mind when you thought of making the film?

From the very beginning, I was planning to make it a film for people around the world. At the same time, I have tried to make a film that can overcome the differences between different Islamic groups, like Shias and Sunnis. For this reason I have used all historical resources, from Sunni and Shia references alike, so the film can create a feeling of unification between them. I believe the film can change the way Western audiences feel towards Islam and it can also be a bridge between different Islamic countries. The film has also given respect to other religions like Christianity and Judaism.

How did you get the idea of asking AR Rahman to contribute to the music?

Rahman is one of the best musicians in the world and I was familiar with his work as a composer.He is very creative and the most important thing for me was that he is also a believing Muslim. And so I thought he can touch the spirit of the film better than anyone else. I believe he has done exceptional work on this film, and others who have heard it also feel that it is unique. When the music is released, it will be very well received as he has used all his talents.

I feel Rahman is not only a great musician, but a great spirit.One of the best days of our working together over the past two years came when we were recording with the orchestra in Berlin.At the time of prayer, he stopped his work and offered his prayers.He gave it priority even when working with the orchestra. I learned a lot from Rahman because he respects human values. He is not only my friend but my brother.

What is the response to the film so far in Iran? When can we hope to see it in other countries too?

The film was released in Iran on August 29 and has had a great reception ever since. So far it has been seen by over a million people, which is unique in the history of cinema in Iran till date. It will most likely set a new record at the box office and it looks like it will continue in the theaters for another five months. We are hopeful of releasing it in other countries soon and are already in discussions and negotiations with agents across the world. We hope to release it in India too once we find the right distributor.

What is your response to the controversies around the film, for example the fatwa in India?

Unfortunately, some religious leaders have asked people to boycott the film, as they believe it is not according to the spirit of Islam. I want to ask them, how can they give these opinions or voice such demands when they have not watched the film yet? I also want to ask them: then how should we introduce real Islam to the world? Other religions have made many films on their leaders.There have been around 200 films made on Jesus Christ. On Moses, 120 films. Even the other prophets have nearly 70 films made on them. There are 42 films made on the Buddha. For the prophet of Islam, there are only two. One is called Al Risala (The Message) and was made nearly 40 years ago by the late Moustapha Akkad. The other is mine. I would invite all the religious figures who have condemned the film to first watch it, including the leaders in India. I am sure if they see it with honesty and without pre-judgement, they will love the film.

People have objected to physical depiction of the Prophet Muhammad in the film …

I have avoided showing the face of the face of the Prophet, which is not seen anywhere in the film.You only see his hands and feet in the cradle as a baby, and as a child from the back. I based this on the opinions of many religious scholars and religious leaders who I consulted, both Sunnis and Shias, and who agreed that it is not a problem as I am not showing the face of the Prophet.

Your message to audiences in India?

I love India and also Indians. I feel there are so many similarities between our countries, which is why I am planning to make my next project in India. I hope to do two productions there in the next two years. I know that Indians and people working in Indian cinema industry know me and my work, and I am grateful for their kindness and attention. Because of my feelings for India, I feel we will be able to do remarkable collaborations.

/129