Thursday, May 22, 2008

 

A recent poll from the Zogby news release has demonstrated that a majority of the American people believe coverage on the Iraq war has been fair or poor. When respondents to the poll were asked what coverage they would like to see more of, stories about the Iraqi people and government were the two most chosen choices.

 

It is believed that television has dumped Iraq as a story, and that there is still a need of clarification on many issues concerning the war. No distinction has been made between Abdul Aziz al-Hakim's Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq and Muqtada al-Sadr's Sadr Movement, both of which are Shiite religious parties. Many Americans believe there is a need for more coverage saying that the war even has an impact on their local communities.

May 21, 2008

According to Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, Iran-China trade ties have increased significantly in the last three years from 10 billion to 20 billion annually. Mottaki had visited the Chinese Embassy in Iran to sign a memorial opened to honor recent victims of the recent China earthquake.

He also added that Iran's Red Crescent in coordination with the Foreign Ministry has sent humanitarian aids to earthquake victims and has said that they are willing to send more if needed. The earthquake measured 7.9 degrees on the Richter scale and jolted the south western province of Sichuan on May 12, leaving more than 40,000 dead and 240,000 wounded.

May 17, 2008

More than a dozen rabbis were in attendance this week as Qatar hosted a meeting dedicated to interfaith dialogue. This rare meeting of several faiths is just another sign of Qatar's efforts to present a moderate image as it bids for the 2016 Olympics.

Politics and disputes over Palestine forcefully intruded, but for the most part everyone benefited from a unique interfaith dialogue that is usually uncommon in that region. Many believe that a gap of understanding is growing between the Muslim Arab world and the West.

May 19, 2008

The Dhaka high court has ruled that some 150,000 Urdu-speaking Muslim refugees have the right to be Bangladesh citizens, with the ruling applying to those who were minors when Bangladesh won independence in 1971.

The Biharis moved from India to what was then East Pakistan following the partition in 1947. During the Bangladesh war of independence, they supported Pakistan but were denied permission to emigrate, facing widespread discrimination in Bangladesh. The ruling does not cover refugees who were adults at the time of independence.

May 19, 2008

Six Australian-based Muslim clerics who lead the Islamic Community in the country are found to be on the payroll of the Saudi government, receiving between 3500 and 7000 Saudi riyal ($1975) a month.

 

Saudi Arabia has put forward more than $120 million into Australia funding mosques, Islamic groups, and clerics to propagate Wahhabism, the puritanical brand of Islam especially espoused by Al-Qaeda. Many of the Muslim leaders in Australia deny that they have been told what to say and what to do by the Saudi government, and that they are fully independent. Even clerics praising violent Wahhabi jihadists are found to have been paid by the Saudi government.

May 16, 2008

Amsterdam police disclosed that a Dutch internet cartoonist was arrested and then released on suspicion of publishing work that is discriminatory against Muslims and people of color.

The arrest happened after a well-known Dutch convert to Islam, Imam Abdul Jabbar van de Ven filed a complaint about Dutch cartoonist, Gregorius Nekschot's cartoons in 2005. Racial and religious tension has been high in the Netherlands especially after the Danish newspaper publication of 12 cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad in September 2005. The publication sparked several demonstrations and riots and many countries.