Headlines:
Preparing a new generation of native French Muslim imams, Turkey has announced its plans to establish the first Muslim campus in Strasbourg to attract hundreds of young French Muslims willing to serve the growing community. "It will become the standard for Islam in France and Europe," Saban Kiper, socialist councillor in the Strasbourg municipality told Liberation, ANSA. Providing France's future Imams with an intensive Arabic curriculum, the project will serve as a theology college with a five-year course of studies and a Muslim secondary school based on the Turkish imam hatip. "The secondary school will be a nursery ground for recruiting future students of theology," Kiper, said. Supervised by Diyanet, the Turkish religious affairs service, the Turkish funded project will coats nearly 15 million Euros to accommodate France's Muslim community of Turkish origins. The new campus will be hosting religious courses for at least six hours on a weekly basis. Though the campus is still under construction, several different structures were purchased in 2010 and are currently undergoing renovation. The new campus is expected to fill a void in France where only two private institutes offer imams' training, including a school created by Paris's Grand Mosque and the other is set up by the Union of Islamic Organizations in France (UOIF). Earlier in 2013, France has expelled several imams in recent months on claims of preaching hatred in the country. France is home to a Muslim minority of six million, Europe's largest. French Muslims have been complaining of growing restrictions on their religious freedoms. The French government had held a national debate on the role of Islam in French society. Paris had also outlawed Muslim street prayers, a sight far-right leader Marine Le Pen likened to the Nazi occupation. Muslims have also complained of restrictions on building mosques to perform their daily prayers. [Source: OnIslam.net]
World powers and Iran have had "their most detailed talks ever" on Iran's nuclear programme, the EU's top foreign policy official Catherine Ashton says. The two sides have held two days of discussions in Geneva. Further talks will take place on 7 and 8 November. Baroness Ashton and Iranian FM Mohammad Javad Zarif called the talks "substantive and forward-looking". International negotiators were carefully considering an Iranian proposal, a joint statement said. The discussions in Geneva brought together Iranian officials and representatives of the "P5+1" - the permanent members of the UN Security Council (Britain, China, France, Russia and the US) plus Germany - also known as the E3+3. "The participants also agreed that E3+3 and Iranian nuclear, scientific and sanctions experts will convene before the next meeting to address differences and to develop practical steps," the statement went on. At a news conference afterwards, Mr Zarif said he hoped the talks would lead to the "beginning of a new phase in our relations" and would help resolve "an unnecessary crisis". He said that he expected international negotiators would need time to "digest and respond to" Iran's proposal. Iran has previously said its proposal at the two-day summit in Geneva has the "capacity to make a breakthrough". In previous rounds, Iran and the world powers largely talked past one another but now they appear to be getting into actual details, the BBC's James Reynolds reports from Geneva. One official at the talks suggested that the reticence to make details of the Iranian proposal public was a positive sign - real discussions don't take place in public, our correspondent adds. Breaking the ice at Iran nuclear talks White House spokesman Jay Carney said Iran had shown a "level of seriousness and substance that we have not seen before". [Source: BBC]
Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar has said that Pakistan would receive $322 million from United States (US) under the head Coalition Support Funds (CSF) shortly. With regard to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's talks with President Barack Obama on October 23, Dar said the Pakistani leader would advocate trade as the best way to strengthen bilateral relations and call for expansion in trade and investment relations. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will focus on expanding investment and trade cooperation with the United States during his upcoming visit to Washington, Ishaq Dar added. The Finance Minister stated this during media talk held at Washington, which details were issued by finance ministry here. The finance minister attended more than 50 meetings on the occasion of annual IMF-World Bank gatherings, and also had "positive" discussions with US officials on bilateral relations. The finance minister revealed that the American officials assured him during bilateral meetings that an outstanding amount of $322 million in Coalition Support Funds would be reimbursed to Pakistan shortly. The prime minister will also interact with American business leaders, Dar added. Senator Dar said he had a string of useful meetings with American officials including USAID Administrator and senior US Trade officials. He said on budget spending for Pakistan from the US assistance is likely to be increased to 35 to 40 percent from current 20 percent. During meetings with the World Bank and IMF chiefs, Dar said there was a "sea change" in their dealings with Pakistan as the international finance institutions expressed appreciation for Pakistan's recent reforms and steps to put the economy back on track. The World Bank, he said, has committed $700 million to Dasu hydropower project. The Overseas Private Investment Corporation has said it would increase the investment in Pakistan to $1.5 billion. "I found much greater international confidence in Pakistan's economic policies and reforms, and am confident that with more investments, we will be able to fuel the national economy, achieve higher GDP growth and fast-track the economic development," he said. [Source: The Nation]
Chinese state media have been having their fun with America's protracted attempts to stave off a crippling default - even though it will likely come back to haunt them. Cartoons depicting the U.S. as a beggar and on a life-support machine have been cropping up in publications this week as the Republicans and Democrats scrambled to agree an extension to the debt ceiling before tomorrow's deadline. A Chinese minister has also accused the 'gentlemen' on Capitol Hill of showing little concern that their 'monkey business' had been damaging America's reputation around the world. Mei Xinyu, who works in the Commerce Ministry and advises the Chinese government, warned that China will likely buy fewer U.S. Treasury Bonds to limit its exposure to the world's largest economy. It has already invested $1.3 trillion in American debt. [Source: UK Daily Mail]
What took place in the areas of the city of Goubellat of luring some of the security officers and killing two of them and injuring another, excessively, is a cowardly act; condemned and inclusive of the prohibition of Allah to the violation of innocent blood. The Prophet (saw) said:
We in Hizb ut Tahrir / Wilayah Turkey congratulate all Muslims all over the world from the depths of our hearts on the occasion of Eid Al Adha. We pray to Allah that this will be the last Eid that passes on the Muslims without a Khaleefah, and invite them to believe in Allah's (swt) promise to them of its establishment
News:
On Monday, 14th of October 2013, the US Special Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, James F. Dobbins, visited Pakistan. The US Embassy in Islamabad said in a press release that "Dobbins discussed US-Pakistani relations, regional security, and Afghanistan with Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, Advisor to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, and Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani".
Comment:
The American special envoy visited Pakistan at a time when the Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif is due to meet the US President, Barack Obama, in Washington on the 23rd of this month. Every ruler who comes to power in Pakistan, wants to travel to Washington or London as his first preferred destination, so he can demonstrate to his people that he enjoys good relations with the superpower and its allies and then say that his government is strong and stable. But these close relations never served even these rulers, as whenever America felt that the current ruler can no longer secure or pursue her interests, she simply withdraws her support from him. Moreover, close relations with America and western Kafir Harbi states always resulted in great harm for Pakistan.
Historically, whenever Pakistan trusted or followed the advice of America or western Kafir Harbi states, she always suffered harm. In 1948 when Pakistan army and Mujahideen were defeating the Indian army on various fronts in occupied Kashmir and were advancing towards its capital Srinagar, India went to the United Nations and asked them to intervene in this matter. Pakistan on the pressure and guarantees of America and western Kafir Harbi states accepted the ceasefire. But since then sixty five years have passed, yet Pakistan and the Kashmiri Muslims have yet to see the implementation of the United Nations Security Council resolution. Similarly, in 1962 when Indo-China war started Pakistan had a golden opportunity to liberate Kashmir but America and western Kafir Harbi nations intervened and on their advice Pakistan did not pursue its cause. Eventually it lost that opportunity. And in 1971 when India attacked East Pakistan with the open backing of Soviet Union, the cold war foe of America, America did not come to defend its friend Pakistan even though it had a defense pact with her. Pakistan kept on waiting for American naval fleet to arrive but it did not come. And eventually a humiliating surrender in Muslim history took place and India secured the capture of almost one hundred thousand of the Muslim army and declared them as prisoners-of-war. Now for the last twelve years, we are fighting America's so called war on terror as its front line state and a non NATO ally and have lost more than fifty thousand civilians and personnel of the armed forces. And our economy has suffered a loss of more than seventy billion dollars.
Therefore it is necessary that Pakistan must cut all ties and relationships with America and Kafir western Harbi nations. After this we will be able to take independent decisions in our matters, whether it is of economy or foreign relations. But this can only be materialized after the return of the Khilafah "Caliphate" to these lands as the current capitalist system and the traitors in political and military leadership will never take such brave decisions. It will only be the Khilafah "Caliphate" state that will eject all American military, private security agencies and diplomats. It will close all American bases and sever the NATO supply line. And then the army of Khilafah "Caliphate" along with the sincere Mujahideen will end all American and western presence from the region and secure it from their filth.
Written for The Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Shahzad Sheikh / Deputy Spokesman of Hizb ut Tahrir in Pakistan
Nussrah Magazine in Pakistan Issue 15 Nov/Dec 2013
