Former Qatari footballer Khalid Salman, who is also a Qatar World Cup ambassador, has called homosexuality haram and a 'damage in the mind'. The comments have reignited the debate whether Qatar is trying to sportswash its human rights abuses by hosting FIFA World Cup 2022. Molly Gambhir brings you a report.

Gravitas: Qatar World Cup ambassador calls Homosexuality 'haram'

A fatwa has been issued against cryptocurrency in Indonesia. The country's top religious body has equated it with gambling & declared it 'haram' or forbidden. Palki Sharma gets you a report.

Gravitas | Indonesia: Fatwa issued against Cryptocurrency

To make it easy for Muslims to identify halal products, Ikiam along with the Malaysian Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (Risda) is designing a logo that will carry a &lsquo;Made by Muslims&rsquo; stamp. The Department of Islamic Development Malaysia already has an official halal logo for products made within the country, but now wants to create a revised logo that states whether the products were also made in a halal environment. Unlike popular belief, the concept of halal covers more than just food and beverages, it also includes cosmetics and toiletries.

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This picture shows the entrance of a halal butchery in Lille, northern France. (AFP)
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The Malaysian Institute of International Islamic Corporation (Ikiam) is an organisation that works to help entrepreneurs of Malaysia capitalise on the global halal market. Halal is an Arabic term for something that is permissible within the ambit of Islam. Muslims around the world are governed by this rule, which defines what is officially allowed for consumption. For example, pork and its by-products along with alcohol are forbidden for Muslims. According to the Halal Research Council, the global halal food market is worth US$580,915 and is growing substantially every year.

Malaysia is a big contributor to the halal market. It, in fact, launched the first halal compliant airline in 2015. All meals on Rayani Air are halal and alcohol consumption is completely prohibited. The airline, however, shut down recently due to issues of negligence. 
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(Contributed by: Zeba Khan)

The new logo will authenticate products made under a halal environment

To make it easy for Muslims to identify halal products, Ikiam along with the Malaysian Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (Risda) is designing a logo that will carry a ‘Made by Muslims’ stamp. The Department of Islamic Development Malaysia already has an official halal logo for products made within the country, but now wants to create a revised logo that states whether the products were also made in a halal environment. Unlike popular belief, the concept of halal covers more than just food and beverages, it also includes cosmetics and toiletries. This picture shows the entrance of a halal butchery in Lille, northern France. (AFP) × The Malaysian Institute of International Islamic Corporation (Ikiam) is an organisation that works to help entrepreneurs of Malaysia capitalise on the global halal market. Halal is an Arabic term for something that is permissible within the ambit of Islam. Muslims around the world are governed by this rule, which defines what is officially allowed for consumption. For example, pork and its by-products along with alcohol are forbidden for Muslims. According to the Halal Research Council, the global halal food market is worth US$580,915 and is growing substantially every year. Malaysia is a big contributor to the halal market. It, in fact, launched the first halal compliant airline in 2015. All meals on Rayani Air are halal and alcohol consumption is completely prohibited. The airline, however, shut down recently due to issues of negligence. (Contributed by: Zeba Khan)

'Made by Muslims': A new label in town

Boko Haram&#39;s elusive leader Abubakar Shekau said in an audio message Thursday he is still around despite his reported ouster as head of the Nigeria-based jihadist group by the Islamic State (IS). 
 
&quot;People should know we are still around. We will never cause any discord among the people, we will live by the Koran,&quot; Shekau said in a 10-minute audio message. 
 
&quot;This is our stand and we remain in our capacity as Jama&#39;atu Ahlissunnah Lidda&#39;awati Wal Jihad,&quot; he said using the Islamic name for the hardline jihadist group. 
 
His voice was recognised by an AFP journalist familiar with previous messages he has posted on social media. 
 
It was also confirmed as Shekau&#39;s voice by Berlin-based expert Yan St-Pierre of the Modern Security Consulting Group (Mosecon). 
&quot;The person who posted on the internet is a very reliable source,&quot; he said.&nbsp; 
 
Shekau&#39;s audio message was released in response to reports that he had been purportedly replaced by Sheikh Abu Musab al-Barnawi, a former IS spokesman. 
 
In the latest edition of IS&#39;s online weekly magazine Al-Naba, which was published on Tuesday, there was an interview with Barnawi in which he was introduced as Boko Haram&#39;s new leader. 
 
In March 2015, Boko Haram pledged allegiance to IS. 
 
But Shekau dismissed Barnawi as an infidel who condoned living in an un-Islamic society without waging jihad. 
 
The shadowy leader&#39;s absence in recent months has sparked speculation about his fate and whether or not he had been deposed as leader.&nbsp; 
 
He became Boko Haram leader after Nigerian security forces killed the group&#39;s founding chief Mohammed Yusuf in 2009, sparking an insurgency that has left 20,000 people dead and forced 2.6 million people to flee their homes. 
 
Boko Haram has been pegged back by an aggressive fightback from the Nigerian military since January 2014, losing territory and its capacity to mount conventional attacks. 
 
(AFP) 
&nbsp;

Shekau's audio message was released in response to reports that he had been replaced by IS spokesperson Abu Musab al-Barnawi

Boko Haram's elusive leader Abubakar Shekau said in an audio message Thursday he is still around despite his reported ouster as head of the Nigeria-based jihadist group by the Islamic State (IS). "People should know we are still around. We will never cause any discord among the people, we will live by the Koran," Shekau said in a 10-minute audio message. "This is our stand and we remain in our capacity as Jama'atu Ahlissunnah Lidda'awati Wal Jihad," he said using the Islamic name for the hardline jihadist group. His voice was recognised by an AFP journalist familiar with previous messages he has posted on social media. It was also confirmed as Shekau's voice by Berlin-based expert Yan St-Pierre of the Modern Security Consulting Group (Mosecon). "The person who posted on the internet is a very reliable source," he said. Shekau's audio message was released in response to reports that he had been purportedly replaced by Sheikh Abu Musab al-Barnawi, a former IS spokesman. In the latest edition of IS's online weekly magazine Al-Naba, which was published on Tuesday, there was an interview with Barnawi in which he was introduced as Boko Haram's new leader. In March 2015, Boko Haram pledged allegiance to IS. But Shekau dismissed Barnawi as an infidel who condoned living in an un-Islamic society without waging jihad. The shadowy leader's absence in recent months has sparked speculation about his fate and whether or not he had been deposed as leader. He became Boko Haram leader after Nigerian security forces killed the group's founding chief Mohammed Yusuf in 2009, sparking an insurgency that has left 20,000 people dead and forced 2.6 million people to flee their homes. Boko Haram has been pegged back by an aggressive fightback from the Nigerian military since January 2014, losing territory and its capacity to mount conventional attacks. (AFP)

Boko Haram elusive chief Shekau sends audio message, says 'still around'

Nearly 200 people have died in the last month at a camp for people made homeless by Boko Haram violence in northeast Nigeria, an aid agency said Wednesday, warning of a growing malnutrition crisis. 
 
A Doctors Without Borders (MSF) team on Tuesday visited the camp, home to around 24,000 people including 15,000 children, and found what it called &quot;a catastrophic humanitarian emergency&quot; unfolding. 
 
One in five of over 800 children it examined had severe acute malnutrition, while 16 severely malnourished children &quot;at immediate risk of death&quot; were referred to its in-patient treatment centre. 
 
At least 188 people have died in the internally displaced people (IDP) camp in Bama, some 70 kilometres (45 miles) from Maiduguri, since May 23 -- about six a day -- mainly from diarrhoea and malnutrition, MSF said in a statement. 
 
A total of 1,233 graves, many of them of for children, had been dug near the camp in the past year, the agency said. 
 
&quot;This is the first time MSF has been able to access Bama, but we already know the needs of the people there are beyond critical,&quot; said MSF head of mission in Nigeria, Ghada Hatim. 
 
&quot;We are treating malnourished children in medical facilities in Maiduguri and see the trauma on the faces of our patients who have witnessed and survived many horrors.&quot; 
 
&#39;Walking corpses&#39;&nbsp; 
 
The Borno state government and international aid agencies have previously warned about acute food shortages for IDPs in northeast Nigeria and the wider Lake Chad region. 
 
On June 15, the Borno state government said it had transferred nearly 700 people, most of them children, from Bama to Maiduguri for treatment for severe malnutrition. 
 
Sixty-one young children and babies were said to be &quot;critically malnourished&quot;. 
 
A civilian vigilante and a soldier based in the remote town of Banki, 60 kilometres from Bama near the Cameroon border, told AFP 
this month at least 10 people were &quot;starving to death&quot; every day. 
 
The vigilante said 376 people had been buried in the last three months and those still alive were like &quot;walking corpses&quot;. 
 
- Security issues - 
 
Boko Haram, whose seven-year Islamist insurgency in northeast Nigeria has left at least 20,000 dead and displaced more than 2.6 million, controlled swathes of territory in the northeast in 2014. 
 
But the Nigerian government has said IDPs housed in camps or host communities can return after a military counter-offensive pushed the militants out of captured towns and villages. 
 
Despite assurances the northeast is largely clear of the rebels, sporadic attacks continue and security remains an issue, while houses, businesses and farms have largely been destroyed. 
 
Domestic and international aid agencies are mainly based in Maiduguri and dependent on Nigerian army assistance to access camps outside the city. 
 
The Borno state governor Kashim Shettima last week ordered police to investigate reports that relief material, including bags of rice meant for IDPs, was being stolen. 
 
The UN&#39;s children&#39;s agency, UNICEF, said it has been working with its partners in Bama since March and has provided health and nutrition support for some 19,000 people. 
 
Its primary health care centre sees on average 140 patients a day for conditions ranging from malaria, respiratory infections and diarrhoea, as well as malnutrition screening and treatment. 
 
(AFP)

One in five of over 800 children had severe acute malnutrition, while 16 severely malnourished children 'at immediate risk of death'

Nearly 200 people have died in the last month at a camp for people made homeless by Boko Haram violence in northeast Nigeria, an aid agency said Wednesday, warning of a growing malnutrition crisis. A Doctors Without Borders (MSF) team on Tuesday visited the camp, home to around 24,000 people including 15,000 children, and found what it called "a catastrophic humanitarian emergency" unfolding. One in five of over 800 children it examined had severe acute malnutrition, while 16 severely malnourished children "at immediate risk of death" were referred to its in-patient treatment centre. At least 188 people have died in the internally displaced people (IDP) camp in Bama, some 70 kilometres (45 miles) from Maiduguri, since May 23 -- about six a day -- mainly from diarrhoea and malnutrition, MSF said in a statement. A total of 1,233 graves, many of them of for children, had been dug near the camp in the past year, the agency said. "This is the first time MSF has been able to access Bama, but we already know the needs of the people there are beyond critical," said MSF head of mission in Nigeria, Ghada Hatim. "We are treating malnourished children in medical facilities in Maiduguri and see the trauma on the faces of our patients who have witnessed and survived many horrors." 'Walking corpses' The Borno state government and international aid agencies have previously warned about acute food shortages for IDPs in northeast Nigeria and the wider Lake Chad region. On June 15, the Borno state government said it had transferred nearly 700 people, most of them children, from Bama to Maiduguri for treatment for severe malnutrition. Sixty-one young children and babies were said to be "critically malnourished". A civilian vigilante and a soldier based in the remote town of Banki, 60 kilometres from Bama near the Cameroon border, told AFP this month at least 10 people were "starving to death" every day. The vigilante said 376 people had been buried in the last three months and those still alive were like "walking corpses". - Security issues - Boko Haram, whose seven-year Islamist insurgency in northeast Nigeria has left at least 20,000 dead and displaced more than 2.6 million, controlled swathes of territory in the northeast in 2014. But the Nigerian government has said IDPs housed in camps or host communities can return after a military counter-offensive pushed the militants out of captured towns and villages. Despite assurances the northeast is largely clear of the rebels, sporadic attacks continue and security remains an issue, while houses, businesses and farms have largely been destroyed. Domestic and international aid agencies are mainly based in Maiduguri and dependent on Nigerian army assistance to access camps outside the city. The Borno state governor Kashim Shettima last week ordered police to investigate reports that relief material, including bags of rice meant for IDPs, was being stolen. The UN's children's agency, UNICEF, said it has been working with its partners in Bama since March and has provided health and nutrition support for some 19,000 people. Its primary health care centre sees on average 140 patients a day for conditions ranging from malaria, respiratory infections and diarrhoea, as well as malnutrition screening and treatment. (AFP)

200 die in one month at camp for people made homeless by Boko Haram violence

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