World News

People In Islam : 18:7 - Dr Reza Aslan

Dr Reza Aslan is an Iranian-American, who is currently a faculty member of the University of California, and is a contributing editor of  The Daily Beast . Aslan is an international acclaimed writer and Scholar of Religions. He is the founder and CEO of  Aslan Media .

Reza Aslan has degrees in Religious studies from Santa Clara University, Harvard University, and the University of California, as well as a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa, where he was named the Truman Capote Fellow in Fiction. His book “No god but God” has been named one of the 100 most important books of the Decade.

Aslan has endeavored to change the perception of Islam in the West. He is a staunch critic of many of the oppressive regimes in the East, while simultaneously being very critical of the role of the West in fuelling terrorist activities in these regions. Aslan’s endeavor is manifested in his book “No god but God”. It attempts to present Islam: its history and development, to Non-Muslims. His book has been received with mixed reviews from Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Regularly appearing on News networks and Talk shows, Aslan successfully manages to present a “different” face of Islam in the Media.  He was key in the development of the TV show All- America Muslim.

(Source: peopleinislam)

reuters:

UEFA President Platini looks on while German Chancellor Merkel and DFB president Niersbach celebrate during the Euro 2012 quarter-final soccer match between Germany and Greece at the PGE Arena in Gdansk. [REUTERS/Peter Andrews]

READ MORE: Germany crushes Greece to reach semis

reuters:

A jury found former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky guilty on 45 out of 48 counts in his child sex abuse trial on Friday.

Sandusky was seen escorted out of the courthouse in handcuffs. He could be sentenced to hundreds of years in prison.

The decision came after about 21 hours of deliberation over two days by a jury of seven women and five men. Nine of the 16 jurors and alternates had ties to Pennsylvania State University, and the final days of the trial drew large crowds to the Centre County Courthouse.

A large crowd gathered outside the Centre County Courthouse in central Pennsylvania to learn news of the decision. A cheer went up outside as the news was released.

The white-haired former coach faced 48 counts of sexual abuse of 10 boys over a 15-year period, sometimes at Penn State facilities.

Read more on this story at Reuters.com

villagevoice:

Photos from Sunday’s Stop-and-Frisk protest

NEW YORK CITY

newshour:

Margaret Warner reports from Mexico:

The pressing economic debate here right now is how to make that next leap forward — the sort of debate any “normal” country might have in a campaign year.

But sadly, Mexico is not a “normal” country. It’s a nation stalked by organized crime and shocking drug-fueled violence, more than 50,000 lives taken in the last five-plus years, ever since President Felipe Calderon decided to use the military to take on the drug cartels. Children’s birthday parties have been shot up by gunmen; other children have been kidnapped for ransom. Cemeteries in the border city of Juarez are filling up fast with the thousands slain each year. Just last month, outside the gleaming city of Monterrey, 49 headless, limb-less bodies were dumped by the side of the road, an act barbarically videotaped in the dead of night and posted online by the Zetas drug cartel. Over the dark screen, one hears the chilling banter: “How many are left? How many are left?”

The Most Important Presidential Race You Haven’t Heard About

(Photo by MARIO VAZQUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

berke-carna97:

Syria: we’ll host Russian missile system

Syria says it’s ready to put a Russian missile system on its soil as a counterweight to U.S. plans to deploy a missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. The offer was made during a meeting between Syrian leader Bashar Al-Assad and President Dmitry Medvedev in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.Meanwhile, Moscow is considering a request from Syria for more Russian-made weapons.It was the first meeting between the two leaders, and President Al-Assad was keen to show Syria’s support for Russia.”We understand what is behind Russia’s position … We believe this is a response to Georgian provocation. We support Moscow in this and are against any attempts to blacken Russia,” Al-Assad said. Many expected a tit-for-tat response after the U.S. sealed a deal to deploy interceptors in Poland as a part of their missile defence system.Ahead of the visit, there were reports that Russia might deploy a missile system in Syria, in particular, the Iskander system. It’s something Syria has been requesting for a long time. After Friday’s meeting, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia is ready “to consider the offers of the Syrian government in connection to the delivery of new weapons, only for defence purposes”.Moscow has temporarily suspended cooperation with NATO. It follows NATO’s criticism of Russia’s actions in South Ossetia and threats to shut down the NATO-Russia Council. Lavrov was clear on Russia’s course: “We are not going to slam the door on NATO. NATO could slam this door, though. Everything depends on NATO’s priorities: if the priorities are absolutely supportive of Saakashvili’s bankrupt regime to the detriment of partnership with Russia, then it is not our fault,” he said. Meanwhile, the withdrawal of Russian troops from the conflict zone is well under way. There will be at least 500 peacekeepers deployed in the so-called security zone near the border. The rest of the peacekeepers will remain within the de facto borders of South Ossetia. The rest of the troops in the area will return to Russia.Russia says it’s fully committed to the six principles of the cease-fire, but, according to Lavrov, some countries are resorting to diplomatic tricks.Both South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Georgia’s two separatist regions, have again asked Moscow to recognise their independence.

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verse2verse:

Nigeria cities in lockdown after deadly riots

Soldiers and police patrol empty streets of Kaduna and Damaturu after days of violence left at least 100 people dead.

Soldiers and police are patrolling the empty streets of two Nigerian cities after three days of violence left at least 101 people dead, with some residents still unable to return home.

The violence between Sunday and Tuesday in Kaduna and Damaturu in Nigeria’s north has led to round-the-clock curfews in both areas and raised fears of further reprisal attacks. 

Some in the northeastern city of Damaturu have been stranded and unable to access food since Monday when a shootout between suspected Boko Haram fighters and soldiers led authorities to impose a ban on movements.

The gun battles, which killed at least 40 people, have stopped but the curfew remains in place, said Patrick Egbuniwe, police commissioner of Yobe state, where Damaturu is the capital.

“So far we have four dead policemen, two soldiers and 34 insurgents,” he said.

An auto mechanic in the city said he has not been home since the fighting started.

“I have been in my workshop since Monday,” Gambo Bakanike told AFP news agency. “We have an open well from which we can get our drinking water, but we have run out of food.”

Hospital staff stranded

A senior hospital official said he and his staff have also been stranded since Monday. ”There is water but we don’t have any food. Our families can’t bring us anything because of the curfew,” said the official who asked to remain anonymous.

West of Yobe in Kaduna state, residents remained indoors after three days of religion-fueled violence that killed at least 61 people.

Boko Haram claimed suicide attacks at three churches in the state on Sunday, which killed at least 16 people and sparked reprisal violence by Christian mobs who burned mosques and targeted their Muslim neighbours, killing dozens.

 

Hours after the Christian rioting began, officials imposed a state-wide ban on movements, which was briefly eased on Monday, but reinstated when Muslim groups started reciprocal rioting.

National police spokesman Frank Mba said he was “confident the curfew would be relaxed soon,” insisting that the police have enough men in Kaduna “to manage any eventuality”.

Nasiru Abdullahi, who lives in the Tadun Wada area where some of the latest rioting took place, said residents were observing the curfew.

“People are indoors. It’s quiet everywhere and troops are patrolling the streets,” he said.

Burned vehicles and destroyed shops were visible around Kaduna city on Tuesday, according to an AFP reporter who toured the city with the military.

Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday condemned those “spilling the blood of innocent people”.

“I hope all parts of society will collaborate in not taking the road of reprisals,” Benedict said during a weekly general audience.

The Boko Haram insurgency has worsened in recent months, with Sunday attacks on churches in the majority Muslim north a near weekly occurrence.

Worsening violence

The criticism directed at President Goodluck Jonathan over what some call his befuddled response to the worsening violence has also grown sharper in recent days.

“Since these terrorist acts began, nothing the president, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has done has been reassuring that the end to this spate of bombings and gun attacks is in sight,” the Christian Association of Nigeria said.

A major oil workers union in Africa’s largest crude producer also issued harsh criticism of the government.

“Governments are put in place to solve problems, not to join the populace in lamenting about them,” the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria said in a statement.

It told Jonathan’s administration “to wake up to its primary responsibility i.e. the security and welfare of the people”.

Boko Haram has killed more than 1,000 people in Africa’s most populous country since mid-2009.