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Wembley Arena saw thousands of Muslims from all over England getting together to show their disapproval and contempt for terrorism and the terrorists. Convened and supervised by Dr. Muhammad Tahir ul Qadri, a well-known Muslim scholar, the international Islamic group Minhaj ul Quran organized this mega event. The peace for humanity conference held in England is estimated to have been attended by 12,000 Muslims who arrived from all parts of UK. That’s not all; the conference has prepared to launch a huge campaign, the purpose of which would be acquiring of the signatures of at least one million people on an online peace declaration by 2012.

Dr Tahir ul Qadri said that the conference should send a message of peace, tolerance, respect, justice and global fraternity throughout the world. It should seek to end the extremist activities that are being carried out in different parts of the world since the past decade. Dr Tahir ul Qadri wants to spread love and smiles through his efforts and to improve the image of Muslims that is negatively portrayed and perceived by the West. Through his Islamic group Minhaj ul Quran, he wants to work for the betterment of Muslims and the whole humanity. Dr Tahir Ul Qadri wants to earn some nobility for Muslims around the world.

While expressing his views, Dr Tahir ul Qadri exclaimed that “We reject unequivocally all terrorism because at the heart of all religions is a belief in the sanctity of the lives of the innocent. The indiscriminate nature of terrorism, which has in recent years killed far more civilians and other non-combatants than it has combatants”

Other speakers that addressed to the conference were the Deputy Mayor of London Richard Barnes, dean of RAF College Dr Joel Hayward, Conservative MEP Sajjad Karim and renowned Muslim scholar Shaykh Abdal Hakim Mura.

This conference is yet another effort by many of the Muslim masses and Islamic groups in the Western countries that are striving for the uplifting of morale and repute of Muslims on a global level.

Dr Tahir ul Qadri also released a fatwa against terrorism last year.

If someone thinks there is any kind of shortage in talent among Muslim men and women, they are wrong. Solelah is a perfect example for this. It is an Islamic reality TV show whose sole purpose is to hunt for the best female Islamic preachers and make people aware of the role and importance of women in a Muslim society. This program aims to give a wakeup call to the conservative mindsets of the society and make them realize the true potential of a woman.

The title of the Islamic reality TV show “Solelah” is derived from Arabic language which means “pious woman”. This talent hunt show will feature a total of 13 episodes and would start broadcasting in October this year. The program is based on the concept that Islam endorses both men and women to preach Islam to their society. But this particular domain is much dominated by the male preachers in almost all the Muslims countries. Considering the majority of male preachers, this program would provide a platform for the Muslim women to effectively showcase their preaching prowess, knowledge and skills essential for carrying out this honorable duty.

The performances of the participants would be adjudged by a jury panel based on their oral, presentation, communicational skills as well as knowledge about the Islamic concepts and personality. The producers behind this reality show are very optimistic about its success and effectiveness towards the religious cause. According to them, this program will prove to be a milestone in bringing women to the forefront of Islamic activities and duties not only in Malaysia but other parts of Islamic world as well.

Expressing his views about the show, the brand manager of the TV channel producing the show said that if programs like American Idol can turn their contestant into professional singers than why not our program can help the Muslim women develop into effective Islamic Preachers.

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With the war on terror reaching its peak, Osama Bin Laden assassinated and a lot of other grim news and events, the situation isn’t very hopeful for Muslims around the world. Even though the Muslim terrorists and extremists are just a fraction of the total, still they are considered to be the black sheep. Consider it propaganda, conspiracy or the destiny of Muslims all around the world, the scenario is not very promising for them. In these circumstances, there is a dire need of a ray of hope and positivity for Muslims to get their acts together and work for the good will of Muslim Ummah. They must struggle to enhance the picture of theirs that is wrongly portrayed especially in the western world.

These were the words of renowned German scholar Dr Dietrich which he shared while visiting the International Islamic University located in Islamabad, Pakistan on Thursday, 8^th September. He was addressing to a panel discussion on the topic of “Muslims in west” in the central library of the university. Dr Dietrich also shared his point of view regarding the role and functioning of the many Islamic institutes in west like Islamic training institute, Dawat e Islam and Tableeghi Jama’at operating in Germany. He was praiseworthy of these institutions that how effectively they are able to attract Muslims from different regions having various cultural and social backgrounds.

Also taking part in the discussion was PhD student at Johns Hopkins University, J. White, who shed some light on the Muslims in American society. According to White, Muslims are two percent of the total American population and like other religious groups they also don’t support or preach terrorism and hatred. The rector of International Islamic University, Mohammad Malik also spoke about the low-spirited condition of Muslims stressing and urging them to build friendly relations with people belonging to other communities. He also regarded that Islam is a peaceful religion and it must not be considered as a threat to the Western Community.

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Rebel fighters entered Tripoli victorious and resorted to aerial firing to celebrate their victory over Muammar Qaddafi’s four decade long rule over Libya. The rebels were welcomed in general by the public in Tripoli and Al-Jazeera Television showed footage of the citizens tearing down posters of the dictator which had been the norm in the city for years in a row. There was jubilation and happiness in the air as everyone celebrated the downfall of Muammar Qaddafi from the corridors of power, for once, for all and for good!

Before disappearing from public, Qaddafi had asked of his people to fight the rebels and drive them out of Tripoli, the last strong bastion of the Qaddafi forces. He said that he had opened the doors to the arms depots in the city, allowing for every citizen to arm himself so as to be able to fight the incoming rebels. The Ex-President claimed that should the populace fail in fighting and driving out the rebels, the rebels would turn the city upside down; that no longer would their basic amenities like food, water, electricity available for the public at large. Even freedom of the public might become a scare commodity, he warned.

Earlier, towards the east of the city in Benghazi, thousands of people gathered in the city centre and waved red, black and green opposition flags when news of rebels’ advances towards Tripoli was confirmed. They celebrated the “soon-to-take-place” downfall of Qaddafi along with Tripoli and chanted slogans against the dictator. According to the former legal advisor to the Kaddafi Government, “Its’ all over, Qaddafi’s finished”.

There is no denying that there is no possibility of Qaddafi coming back to rule Libya in his lifetime. Qaddafi’s eldest son had surrendered to the rebel forces while his younger son had been captured by the rebels upon their advance to the city.

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The Islamic republic of Iran announced the sentencing of two American hikers to a total of eight years in prison each on charges of illegal entry and espionage in the Islamic Republic, as reported by the website of the state run television channel in the Islamic republic of Iran.

The two Americans are known as Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer and both have been sentenced to three years in jail in the Islamic Republic for illegally entering the country. Additionally, each of them has been handed down a sentence of five years each on charges of espionage for the United States of America. The two hikers were reportedly arrested by the Iranian border guards when they strayed into Iranian Territory from its border with Iraq on 31^st of July 2009. According to the two captured Americans, they were hiking in Iraq’s northern province of Kurdistan before they “mistakenly” ventured into Iranian soil and were arrested immediately after being spotted.

A spokesperson for the US government, Victoria Nuland, said that the United States was confirming these reports. The absence of any diplomatic relations between the United States and The Islamic Republic were the main cause of worries in Washington. The absence of any such formal relations implies that the government in the US is unable to meet or interact with the hikers held in Iran. They (US) cannot asses or review the state of their mental health or their physical well being and are thus unable to see how they are being treated while in detention. No direct communication of any sort whatsoever is possible between the US authorities and the detained US citizens as a result of a number of conflicting issues between the two countries.

The prisoners have been granted twenty days by the authorities passing on the judgment, to make an appeal against the decision. The two Americans had earlier pleaded “not-guilty” to the charges leveled against them by the Iranian authorities.

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Turkish warplanes carried out airstrikes on Kurdish guerrilla rebel targets in Northern Iraq; the third in a series of consecutive raids carried out by the Turks on the Kurds. Analysts feel that the raids were a response to an increase in the number of attacks by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) on Turkish security personnel in Southern Turkey. The attacks by the PKK have claimed some forty lives in little over a month and the raids were being seen as revenge attacks for the killings.

A witness claimed to have had seen at least ten Turkish warplanes staking off from their base in Southern Turkey.

A few hours before the raid, the Prime Minister of Turkey, Mr. Tayyip Erdogan claimed that his government’s patience with the separatists had “finally run out” and that the people who had carried out the killings of the Turkish security forces would “pay the price” for their deeds. The airstrikes just a few hours later confirmed the veracity of his statement.

However, after the airstrikes, the Turkish Military announced that there would be no end to the airstrikes until and unless the PKK was effectively rendered dysfunctional.

The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

In Iraq however, the mood was different. On Friday, the deputy foreign minister, Mr. Labeed Abbawi asserted that his government’s stance was clear on the situation, that the government rejects violence and any overstepping of the borders. He said that the issue is not suited to be resolved militarily; in the event that Turkey had conclusively planned to carry out a raid, his government in Iraq should have been informed and consulted in advance so that it could have had tried other means of disentangling the adversaries.

Attacks by the PKK inside of Turkish territory are a highly sensitive and inflammable issue with the Turkish population and most support taking a hard-line approach with the rebels from Northern Iraq.

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Saudi Arabia started work on the expansion of the Grand Mosque housing the Ka’bah on Friday. The inauguration was made in person by the Saudi King and is estimated to hold two million pilgrims at a time after the expansion.

Interestingly, this expansion is so huge that it is being termed as the biggest expansion by all previous rulers combined! The complete expansion will add a total area of four hundred thousand square meters to the Grand Mosque for the convenience of the incoming pilgrims.

Other than the additional area to be incorporated as part of the Mosque, the expansion project includes the construction of pedestrian bridges for convenience of mobility in the then huge Mosque as well as a considerable amount of shaded spots so that the pilgrims are protected from the baking sunshine of Makkah.

The expansion is part of the measures taken by the Saudi Arabian government in recent years for the convenience and comfort of Muslims flocking to Makkah annually. It is estimated that about six million pilgrims travel to Saudi Arabia each year to perform the Holy rituals of Hajj or Umrah and the numbers keep rising. Many of these pilgrims are aged and weak and large numbers of them die owing to the hot desert climate as well as the hardship of the rituals to be performed during the pilgrimage.

A high speed railway project to connect the Holy cities of Makkah and Medina is underway and is part and parcel of the same initiative to provide relief to the pilgrims, in this case, by virtue of ease of transport between the two cities. The project, named Haramain Railway, will connect the two Holy cities with the sea port of Jeddah because this port city is an entry and exit point for many pilgrims around the world. Providing such a service will allow the pilgrims to travel straight to their destinations and back, thus, also easing out on traffic congestions as a result of this mass movement every year.

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