Sri Lanka has decided to lift a ban on social media reportedly by this week.

The decision was announced by a Sri Lankan government minister, Reuters news agency said.

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/sri-lanka-demands-tougher-action-from-facebook-to-lift-ban-35702">Sri Lanka demands tougher action from Facebook to lift </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/sri-lanka-demands-tougher-action-from-facebook-to-lift-ban-35702">ban</a>

The internet services have been suspended from past several days as measures to control communal violence in the region as authorities were reported of social media being used for coordinated events is banned as a measure to control communal violence in the region.

The government declared a <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/no-need-to-extend-state-of-emergency-in-sri-lanka-law-and-order-min-35670">state of emergency </a>on Tuesday as the unrest escalated when a Muslim man was found dead in a burnt-out building, a day after a Sinhalese man died of injuries sustained in an attack carried out by Muslim men.

So far at least three people died and 20 people have been wounded.

More than 200 Mulism owned businesses and homes were also torched in the four days of riots which died down on Thursday.

President Maithripala Sirisena also appointed a three-member commission to probe the communal clashes in Kandy.&nbsp;

The nationwide declared emergency was lifted on 10th of March.

Police said on Saturday nearly 150 people, including the main instigator, have also been arrested over the unrest.&nbsp;

The decision was announced by a Sri Lankan government minister, said news agency Reuters

Sri Lanka has decided to lift a ban on social media reportedly by this week. The decision was announced by a Sri Lankan government minister, Reuters news agency said. Also read: Sri Lanka demands tougher action from Facebook to lift ban The internet services have been suspended from past several days as measures to control communal violence in the region as authorities were reported of social media being used for coordinated events is banned as a measure to control communal violence in the region. The government declared a state of emergency on Tuesday as the unrest escalated when a Muslim man was found dead in a burnt-out building, a day after a Sinhalese man died of injuries sustained in an attack carried out by Muslim men. So far at least three people died and 20 people have been wounded. More than 200 Mulism owned businesses and homes were also torched in the four days of riots which died down on Thursday. President Maithripala Sirisena also appointed a three-member commission to probe the communal clashes in Kandy. The nationwide declared emergency was lifted on 10th of March. Police said on Saturday nearly 150 people, including the main instigator, have also been arrested over the unrest.

Sri Lanka unrest: Social media ban to be lifted by this week

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/inx-media-case-karti-chidambarams-cbi-custody-extended-by-3-days-34895" target="_blank">INX Media case: CBI custody of Karti Chidambaram extended by 3 days</a>

A special CBI Court on Tuesday extended the agency&#39;s custody of Karti Chidambaram by three more days in the infamous INX Media case, after his previous five-day custody expired today.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/no-need-for-nuclear-weapons-if-we-have-security-guarantee-north-korea-34896" target="_blank">No need for nuclear weapons if we have security guarantee: North Korea</a>

North Korea is open to denuclearisation if the safety of Kim Jong Un&rsquo;s regime is guaranteed, a South Korean official said Tuesday.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/sri-lanka-imposes-10-day-emergency-in-kandy-due-to-communal-tension-34868" target="_blank">Sri Lanka declares </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/sri-lanka-imposes-10-day-emergency-in-kandy-due-to-communal-tension-34868" target="_blank">emergency</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/sri-lanka-imposes-10-day-emergency-in-kandy-due-to-communal-tension-34868" target="_blank"> to quell Buddhist-Muslim riots, curfew imposed in Kandy</a>

Sri Lanka declared a nationwide state of emergency for 10 days on Tuesday to stop the spread of communal violence, a government spokesman said, after clashes erupted between majority Buddhists and members of the minority Muslim community.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/neiphiu-rio-appointed-nagaland-chief-minister-by-governor-pb-acharya-34900" target="_blank">Neiphiu Rio appointed </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/neiphiu-rio-appointed-nagaland-chief-minister-by-governor-pb-acharya-34900" target="_blank">c</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/neiphiu-rio-appointed-nagaland-chief-minister-by-governor-pb-acharya-34900" target="_blank">hief</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/neiphiu-rio-appointed-nagaland-chief-minister-by-governor-pb-acharya-34900" target="_blank"> minister of Nagaland</a>

Nagaland Governor PB Acharya has appointed Neiphiu Rio as chief minister under clause (1) of Article 164 of the Constitution.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/pnb-scam-icicis-chanda-kochhar-axis-banks-shikha-sharma-summoned-by-sfio-34893" target="_blank">PNB scam: ICICI&#39;s Chanda Kochhar, Axis Bank&#39;s Shikha Sharma summoned by Serious Fraud Investigation Office</a>

ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar and Axis Bank chief Shikha Sharma have been summoned by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in connection with the over Rs 13,000-crore PNB scam.&nbsp;

INX Media case: CBI custody of Karti Chidambaram extended by 3 days A special CBI Court on Tuesday extended the agency's custody of Karti Chidambaram by three more days in the infamous INX Media case, after his previous five-day custody expired today. No need for nuclear weapons if we have security guarantee: North Korea North Korea is open to denuclearisation if the safety of Kim Jong Un’s regime is guaranteed, a South Korean official said Tuesday. Sri Lanka declares emergency to quell Buddhist-Muslim riots, curfew imposed in Kandy Sri Lanka declared a nationwide state of emergency for 10 days on Tuesday to stop the spread of communal violence, a government spokesman said, after clashes erupted between majority Buddhists and members of the minority Muslim community. Neiphiu Rio appointed chief minister of Nagaland Nagaland Governor PB Acharya has appointed Neiphiu Rio as chief minister under clause (1) of Article 164 of the Constitution. PNB scam: ICICI's Chanda Kochhar, Axis Bank's Shikha Sharma summoned by Serious Fraud Investigation Office ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar and Axis Bank chief Shikha Sharma have been summoned by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in connection with the over Rs 13,000-crore PNB scam.

WION Evening News Brief, March 6, 2018

Hadiya, the 24-year-old&nbsp;woman in connection to the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/not-all-love-marriages-are-love-jihads-observes-kerala-high-court-22629" target="_blank">Kerala &quot;Love Jihad&quot; </a>has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that she is a Muslim and wanted to remain as a Muslim.&nbsp;

She also said that she wanted to remain the wife of Shafi Jahan.&nbsp;

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Kerala &#39;Love Jihad&#39; case: Hadiya files an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that she is a Muslim and wanted to remain as a Muslim. She also stated that she wanted to remain the wife of Shafi Jahan
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Hadiya, originally a Hindu, converted to Islam and married a Muslim man Shafin Jahan.

It was alleged that Hadiya was recruited by the Islamic State&#39;s mission in Syria and Shafin Jahan was only a stooge.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/kerala-love-jihad-case-sc-orders-hadiyas-father-to-produce-her-before-it-23125">Hadiya has been in the news</a>&nbsp;after her&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/hadiya-finally-gets-to-speak-to-her-husband-shes-relieved-from-depression-says-college-dean-25508">conversion to Islam</a>&nbsp;and marriage with Shafin Jahan in Kerala. The Kerala High Court had annulled her marriage and called it an instance of &#39;love jihad&#39;.

Her&nbsp;husband had approached the Supreme court while she stayed at her parental home in Kochi for several weeks. The apex court later freed her from her parents&#39; custody and allowed her to travel to Tamil Nadu for her studies.&nbsp;

While hearing the case on January 23, the Supreme Court had said that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) cannot go into the marital status of Hadiya.&nbsp;

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for February 22.&nbsp;

She also said that she wanted to remain the wife of Shafi Jahan

Hadiya, the 24-year-old woman in connection to the Kerala "Love Jihad" has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that she is a Muslim and wanted to remain as a Muslim. She also said that she wanted to remain the wife of Shafi Jahan. Kerala 'Love Jihad' case: Hadiya files an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that she is a Muslim and wanted to remain as a Muslim. She also stated that she wanted to remain the wife of Shafi Jahan — ANI (@ANI) February 20, 2018 × Hadiya, originally a Hindu, converted to Islam and married a Muslim man Shafin Jahan. It was alleged that Hadiya was recruited by the Islamic State's mission in Syria and Shafin Jahan was only a stooge. Hadiya has been in the news after her conversion to Islam and marriage with Shafin Jahan in Kerala. The Kerala High Court had annulled her marriage and called it an instance of 'love jihad'. Her husband had approached the Supreme court while she stayed at her parental home in Kochi for several weeks. The apex court later freed her from her parents' custody and allowed her to travel to Tamil Nadu for her studies. While hearing the case on January 23, the Supreme Court had said that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) cannot go into the marital status of Hadiya. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for February 22.

'I am a Muslim, want to remain Muslim' says Hadiya in affidavit to Supreme Court

The other day, a former senior bureaucrat attached to the then Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, told a news channel that Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao had informed the Chief Minister about archaeological evidence of the pre-existence of a temple where the Babri mosque stood. This was roughly a fortnight before the disputed structure was demolished. The bureaucrat was referring to the findings of an archaeological exercise conducted just months before. A more detailed excavation was done in 2003 by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on the Allahabad High Court&rsquo;s instructions.

Interestingly, both of these explorations had dug out evidence of a Hindu structure that once existed. The findings had set off a furious debate between the pro-temple organisations on the one hand and the pro-mosque lobby consisting of the Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC) and Left-liberal historians on the other. Now, given that the Supreme Court has said that it would hear the matter as a title deed case and not delve into the faith aspect, the archaeological material could play a crucial role.

Indeed, even the Allahabad High Court, while going into matters of faith, had relied heavily on the ASI&rsquo;s 2003 findings. &nbsp;The High Court&rsquo;s order was subsequently stayed by the apex court, but the archaeological findings haven&rsquo;t gone anywhere. The fire may now be re-ignited.

The pro-mosque lobby has consistently questioned the credibility of the ASI&rsquo;s findings. The fact is that the ASI did the excavations in 2003 under the supervision of the court. The court had appointed a panel including two junior judges and three archaeologists to maintain a close vigil on the excavation. And yet, the findings were discredited merely because they indicated the existence of a Hindu structure. It must be remembered that the 2003 excavation was more elaborate than the one in the early 1990s because it was done post-demolition.

Many findings were noted, and the most significant one was that well before the mosque came to be constructed, there had been large-scale structures of non-residential type (religious in nature) right up to the present level of the disputed site. Some 50 pillar bases were excavated; walls were discovered; a circular shrine with a water chute towards the north, that is meant to drain out water after offering to the deity, was found. The High Court had asked the ASI to excavate to determine &ldquo;whether there was any temple or structure which was demolished and the mosque constructed on the disputed site&rdquo;. Left historians, perhaps, already apprehensive that the 1992 findings would be reinforced, strenuously objected on the ground that the court seemed to be giving &ldquo;tacit judicial recognition&rdquo; to the belief that a monument could be destroyed on grounds of its having been built over another religious structure.

As more and more material emerged through the excavations that pointed to the pre-existence of a temple &mdash; or at the very least a Hindu structure, Left historians and the pro-mosque lobby stepped up their opposition. What then was witnessed was a sequence of desperate arguments. They had to respond somehow after the ASI report concluded that the findings were &ldquo;indicative (of) remains which are distinctive features found associated with the temples of north India&rdquo;. In short, the mosque had not been constructed on vacant land and that the remains found belonged to Hindu structures.

The dilemma before the pro-mosque organisations was: What was now to be done in the face of such evidence gathered through an exercise closely supervised by the High Court? One Left historian, Irfan Habib, was quick off the mark. Even before the ASI had submitted its final report to the court, he alleged that the ASI appeared to be bent on &ldquo;finding what those in powers wish it to find &mdash; the remains of a temple&rdquo;. He then went on to make a bizarre claim: That another mosque had immediately existed where the Babri structure later came up. Undaunted by the outlandish claims, he suggested that the pillar bases and bricks (which were evidence of a Hindu structure) were &ldquo;easy to assemble&rdquo; and that the bricks could have been &ldquo;arranged by the ASI excavators to provide evidence&rdquo;. Having already made up his mind, it wasn&rsquo;t surprising that Habib dismissed the final report as an &ldquo;unprofessional document, full of gross omissions, one-sided presentations of evidence, clear falsifications and motivated inferences&rdquo;.

There were other Left historians too who endorsed Habib&rsquo;s outrage. But the High Court did not share their prejudices, also because the excavations had been done under its supervision and there had been no reason for any objective evaluator to doubt the exercise&rsquo;s credibility.

Just one more instance should suffice to demonstrate the desperation of the Left historians and their patrons. The excavations had revealed details of the Ram Chabutara (the site of which the High Court eventually awarded to the pro-temple groups in its verdict). These historians had all along insisted that the Chabutara had been constructed soon after the 1857 revolt, quite ignoring the description of a Jesuit priest Joseph Tieffenthaler, who had visited the place between 1766 and 1771. The priest had written in detail about the structure, and his writings matched the earliest form of Ram Chabutara.

The Left academics&rsquo; strategy has been clear and consistent. First, deny the evidence. If that becomes difficult, explain it away as one that fits with anything but the pre-existence of a Hindu structure. When even that fails, blame the ASI team for &lsquo;planting&rsquo; evidence to bolster a &lsquo;pre-conceived&rsquo; agenda driven by the rulers of the day. As the apex court takes up the issue from March 14, we may see the resurgence of the same old stance.&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL) 
&nbsp;

PM Narasimha Rao and CM Kalyan Singh were aware of archaeological evidence of the pre-existence of a temple where the Babri mosque stood.

The other day, a former senior bureaucrat attached to the then Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, told a news channel that Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao had informed the Chief Minister about archaeological evidence of the pre-existence of a temple where the Babri mosque stood. This was roughly a fortnight before the disputed structure was demolished. The bureaucrat was referring to the findings of an archaeological exercise conducted just months before. A more detailed excavation was done in 2003 by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on the Allahabad High Court’s instructions. Interestingly, both of these explorations had dug out evidence of a Hindu structure that once existed. The findings had set off a furious debate between the pro-temple organisations on the one hand and the pro-mosque lobby consisting of the Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC) and Left-liberal historians on the other. Now, given that the Supreme Court has said that it would hear the matter as a title deed case and not delve into the faith aspect, the archaeological material could play a crucial role. Indeed, even the Allahabad High Court, while going into matters of faith, had relied heavily on the ASI’s 2003 findings. The High Court’s order was subsequently stayed by the apex court, but the archaeological findings haven’t gone anywhere. The fire may now be re-ignited. The pro-mosque lobby has consistently questioned the credibility of the ASI’s findings. The fact is that the ASI did the excavations in 2003 under the supervision of the court. The court had appointed a panel including two junior judges and three archaeologists to maintain a close vigil on the excavation. And yet, the findings were discredited merely because they indicated the existence of a Hindu structure. It must be remembered that the 2003 excavation was more elaborate than the one in the early 1990s because it was done post-demolition. Many findings were noted, and the most significant one was that well before the mosque came to be constructed, there had been large-scale structures of non-residential type (religious in nature) right up to the present level of the disputed site. Some 50 pillar bases were excavated; walls were discovered; a circular shrine with a water chute towards the north, that is meant to drain out water after offering to the deity, was found. The High Court had asked the ASI to excavate to determine “whether there was any temple or structure which was demolished and the mosque constructed on the disputed site”. Left historians, perhaps, already apprehensive that the 1992 findings would be reinforced, strenuously objected on the ground that the court seemed to be giving “tacit judicial recognition” to the belief that a monument could be destroyed on grounds of its having been built over another religious structure. As more and more material emerged through the excavations that pointed to the pre-existence of a temple — or at the very least a Hindu structure, Left historians and the pro-mosque lobby stepped up their opposition. What then was witnessed was a sequence of desperate arguments. They had to respond somehow after the ASI report concluded that the findings were “indicative (of) remains which are distinctive features found associated with the temples of north India”. In short, the mosque had not been constructed on vacant land and that the remains found belonged to Hindu structures. The dilemma before the pro-mosque organisations was: What was now to be done in the face of such evidence gathered through an exercise closely supervised by the High Court? One Left historian, Irfan Habib, was quick off the mark. Even before the ASI had submitted its final report to the court, he alleged that the ASI appeared to be bent on “finding what those in powers wish it to find — the remains of a temple”. He then went on to make a bizarre claim: That another mosque had immediately existed where the Babri structure later came up. Undaunted by the outlandish claims, he suggested that the pillar bases and bricks (which were evidence of a Hindu structure) were “easy to assemble” and that the bricks could have been “arranged by the ASI excavators to provide evidence”. Having already made up his mind, it wasn’t surprising that Habib dismissed the final report as an “unprofessional document, full of gross omissions, one-sided presentations of evidence, clear falsifications and motivated inferences”. There were other Left historians too who endorsed Habib’s outrage. But the High Court did not share their prejudices, also because the excavations had been done under its supervision and there had been no reason for any objective evaluator to doubt the exercise’s credibility. Just one more instance should suffice to demonstrate the desperation of the Left historians and their patrons. The excavations had revealed details of the Ram Chabutara (the site of which the High Court eventually awarded to the pro-temple groups in its verdict). These historians had all along insisted that the Chabutara had been constructed soon after the 1857 revolt, quite ignoring the description of a Jesuit priest Joseph Tieffenthaler, who had visited the place between 1766 and 1771. The priest had written in detail about the structure, and his writings matched the earliest form of Ram Chabutara. The Left academics’ strategy has been clear and consistent. First, deny the evidence. If that becomes difficult, explain it away as one that fits with anything but the pre-existence of a Hindu structure. When even that fails, blame the ASI team for ‘planting’ evidence to bolster a ‘pre-conceived’ agenda driven by the rulers of the day. As the apex court takes up the issue from March 14, we may see the resurgence of the same old stance. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: What decides Babri Masjid's fate on March 14

The Korean Tourism Organization (KTO) has decided not to provide any prayer rooms in&nbsp;Gangneung for the<a href="http://www.wionews.com/videos/pyeongchang-2018-winter-olympics-explained-8253"> 2018 Winter Olympics</a> after receiving threats by anti-muslim campaigners, the city&#39;s tourism department&#39;s chief said on Friday.&nbsp;

The KTO has refuted plans of organising mobile prayer rooms following strong opposition from some groups. Out of the total population of 51 million, Muslims account for&nbsp;a mere 0.2%, however, the KTO had earlier decided to build a prayer room to promote a &quot;Muslim-friendly Korea&quot; during the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/pyeongchang-winter-olympics-competition-begins-with-curling-32226">Winter Olympics</a> with the aim of increasing the number of Muslim tourists.

This goal came a step closer in early February with the opening of a cafeteria serving certified halal food to Muslim athletes competing at Pyeongchang.

Opposition from religious groups was shortly seen, who opposed the idea and threatened to carry out protests during the games which are set to begin on Friday.&nbsp;

Gangnueng city government tourism division chief Kang Suk-ho was quoted saying that he did not expect &quot;such an extreme backlash from the group&quot;.&nbsp;

In January, the Pyeongchang Olympics Gangwon Citizens&rsquo; Islam Countermeasure Association, a newly-formed civic group, began distributing a Google form titled &quot;Petition against the Installation of a Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Muslim Prayer Room.&rdquo;

The petition included various claims, including that the people of Gangwon province are collectively opposed to Islam, and that South Korea must be wary of the religion in its radical form. As of February 8, it had gathered more than 56,000 online signatures.

Also read:<a href="http://www.wionews.com/videos/north-korean-leaders-sister-kim-yo-jong-welcomed-by-south-korea-8276">&nbsp;North Korean leader&#39;s sister Kim Yo Jong welcomed by South Korea</a>

Winter Olympics is already underway, PyeongChang is hosting the 2018 XXIII Olympic Winter Games. It is a major international multi-sport event which is scheduled to take place from February 9 to 25.

The 23rd Winter Olympics will feature 102 events in 15 sports and athletes from all over the world.

Out of the total population of 51 million, Muslims account of a mere 0.2%, however, the KTO had earlier decided to build a prayer room to promote a 'Muslim-friendly Korea' during the Winter Olympics with the aim to increase the number of Muslim tourists

The Korean Tourism Organization (KTO) has decided not to provide any prayer rooms in Gangneung for the 2018 Winter Olympics after receiving threats by anti-muslim campaigners, the city's tourism department's chief said on Friday. The KTO has refuted plans of organising mobile prayer rooms following strong opposition from some groups. Out of the total population of 51 million, Muslims account for a mere 0.2%, however, the KTO had earlier decided to build a prayer room to promote a "Muslim-friendly Korea" during the Winter Olympics with the aim of increasing the number of Muslim tourists. This goal came a step closer in early February with the opening of a cafeteria serving certified halal food to Muslim athletes competing at Pyeongchang. Opposition from religious groups was shortly seen, who opposed the idea and threatened to carry out protests during the games which are set to begin on Friday. Gangnueng city government tourism division chief Kang Suk-ho was quoted saying that he did not expect "such an extreme backlash from the group". In January, the Pyeongchang Olympics Gangwon Citizens’ Islam Countermeasure Association, a newly-formed civic group, began distributing a Google form titled "Petition against the Installation of a Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Muslim Prayer Room.” The petition included various claims, including that the people of Gangwon province are collectively opposed to Islam, and that South Korea must be wary of the religion in its radical form. As of February 8, it had gathered more than 56,000 online signatures. Also read: North Korean leader's sister Kim Yo Jong welcomed by South Korea Winter Olympics is already underway, PyeongChang is hosting the 2018 XXIII Olympic Winter Games. It is a major international multi-sport event which is scheduled to take place from February 9 to 25. The 23rd Winter Olympics will feature 102 events in 15 sports and athletes from all over the world.

Prayer rooms dismissed at Olympics following threats by anti-Muslim groups

The Danish government on Tuesday proposed a ban on Islamic full-face veils such as the niqab and burqa in public spaces, making it likely to become the next European country to restrict the wearing of the religious garment.

&quot;It is incompatible with the values in Danish society and disrespectful to the community to keep one`s face hidden when meeting each other in public spaces,&quot; Justice Minister Soren Pape Poulsen said in a statement.&nbsp;

&quot;With a ban on covering the face, we are drawing a line in the sand and underlining that in Denmark we show each other trust and respect by meeting face to face,&quot; he added.

The niqab is a full veil with a small slit for the eyes, while the burqa is a full veil that covers the head and body with a mesh screen over the eyes.&nbsp;

The proposal is to be assessed by non-governmental human rights organisations and possibly re-written to take their remarks into consideration.&nbsp;

The centre-right government is expected to present a bill to parliament in the spring.&nbsp;

With the support of the country`s second largest party, the anti-immigration Danish People`s Party, the proposed legislation is likely to be adopted.&nbsp;

A violation of the ban would lead to a fine of 1,000 kroner ($166, 134 euros).&nbsp;

Repeated violations would be fined up to 10,000 kroner.&nbsp;

The proposed ban says the &quot;burqa, niqab and balaclavas where only eyes and mouth are visible are examples of clothes that hide the face&quot;.

But covering the face in a recognisable manner, such as wearing winter clothing, sports gear and masks for festivities, are exempted.

It is not known how many women wear the niqab and burqa in Denmark.

&quot;I don`t think there are many who wear the burqa here in Denmark. But if you do, you should be punished with a fine,&quot; Poulsen told reporters, according to news agency Ritzau.

The full-face veil is a hot-button issue across Europe.&nbsp;

The European Court of Human Rights last year upheld a Belgian ban on wearing it in public.&nbsp;

France was the first European country to ban the niqab in public places with a law that took effect in 2011.&nbsp;

Spain`s highest court annulled in 2013 a ban on the full-face veil in public buildings that had been brought in three years earlier by the northeastern region of Catalonia.&nbsp;

'It is incompatible with the values in Danish society and disrespectful to the community to keep one`s face hidden when meeting each other in public spaces,' Justice Minister Soren Pape Poulsen said

The Danish government on Tuesday proposed a ban on Islamic full-face veils such as the niqab and burqa in public spaces, making it likely to become the next European country to restrict the wearing of the religious garment. "It is incompatible with the values in Danish society and disrespectful to the community to keep one`s face hidden when meeting each other in public spaces," Justice Minister Soren Pape Poulsen said in a statement. "With a ban on covering the face, we are drawing a line in the sand and underlining that in Denmark we show each other trust and respect by meeting face to face," he added. The niqab is a full veil with a small slit for the eyes, while the burqa is a full veil that covers the head and body with a mesh screen over the eyes. The proposal is to be assessed by non-governmental human rights organisations and possibly re-written to take their remarks into consideration. The centre-right government is expected to present a bill to parliament in the spring. With the support of the country`s second largest party, the anti-immigration Danish People`s Party, the proposed legislation is likely to be adopted. A violation of the ban would lead to a fine of 1,000 kroner ($166, 134 euros). Repeated violations would be fined up to 10,000 kroner. The proposed ban says the "burqa, niqab and balaclavas where only eyes and mouth are visible are examples of clothes that hide the face". But covering the face in a recognisable manner, such as wearing winter clothing, sports gear and masks for festivities, are exempted. It is not known how many women wear the niqab and burqa in Denmark. "I don`t think there are many who wear the burqa here in Denmark. But if you do, you should be punished with a fine," Poulsen told reporters, according to news agency Ritzau. The full-face veil is a hot-button issue across Europe. The European Court of Human Rights last year upheld a Belgian ban on wearing it in public. France was the first European country to ban the niqab in public places with a law that took effect in 2011. Spain`s highest court annulled in 2013 a ban on the full-face veil in public buildings that had been brought in three years earlier by the northeastern region of Catalonia.

Denmark proposes ban on Islamic full-face veil in public

The Supreme Court has scheduled the<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/supreme-court-to-hear-rohingya-refugees-pil-challenging-deportation-22374" target="_blank"> hearing for Rohingya refugees deportation </a>on January 31.

The apex court has posted all petitions relating to the deportation of Muslim Rohingya refugees for a detailed hearing in January.&nbsp;

The Centre had earlier filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on the issue of deportation of Rohingya Muslims from India.

The centre told the apex court that the presence of Rohingyas in the country posed a threat to the national security of the country.&nbsp;Besides being a security threat because of links to the ISI and the IS, Rohingyas will exhaust natural resources meant for Indian citizens resulting in hostility and social tensions, the centre added.&nbsp;

The argument was based on an information received from intelligence inputs which suggested that some of the Rohingya&#39;s had links with Pak -based terror groups.&nbsp;

The Public Interest Litigation was filed by two Rohingya Muslims challenging the Indian government&#39;s decision to deport around 40,000 people of the community.

In their petition, the two Rohingya immigrants, Mohammad Salimullah and Mohammad Shaqir, argue that they had taken refuge in India after escaping from Myanmar due to widespread discrimination, violence and bloodshed against the community there.&nbsp;

Another Rohingya refugee then filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court of India, denying the Indian government&#39;s claims that the Muslim community from Myanmar has terror links with Pakistan&#39;s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Islamic State. The affidavit states that the Rohingyas should be treated at par with Tibetan and Sri Lankan refugees.

Over 40,000 Rohingyas are living in India as refugees.

These refugees have been settled in Jammu and Kashmir, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan.&nbsp;

About half a million Rohingya&#39;s were forced to flee Myanmar in order to escape the deadly violence.

The UN has described the Rohingya exodus as ethnic cleansing.

The apex court has posted all petitions relating to the deportation of Muslim Rohingya refugees for a detailed hearing in January

The Supreme Court has scheduled the hearing for Rohingya refugees deportation on January 31. The apex court has posted all petitions relating to the deportation of Muslim Rohingya refugees for a detailed hearing in January. The Centre had earlier filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on the issue of deportation of Rohingya Muslims from India. The centre told the apex court that the presence of Rohingyas in the country posed a threat to the national security of the country. Besides being a security threat because of links to the ISI and the IS, Rohingyas will exhaust natural resources meant for Indian citizens resulting in hostility and social tensions, the centre added. The argument was based on an information received from intelligence inputs which suggested that some of the Rohingya's had links with Pak -based terror groups. The Public Interest Litigation was filed by two Rohingya Muslims challenging the Indian government's decision to deport around 40,000 people of the community. In their petition, the two Rohingya immigrants, Mohammad Salimullah and Mohammad Shaqir, argue that they had taken refuge in India after escaping from Myanmar due to widespread discrimination, violence and bloodshed against the community there. Another Rohingya refugee then filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court of India, denying the Indian government's claims that the Muslim community from Myanmar has terror links with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Islamic State. The affidavit states that the Rohingyas should be treated at par with Tibetan and Sri Lankan refugees. Over 40,000 Rohingyas are living in India as refugees. These refugees have been settled in Jammu and Kashmir, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan. About half a million Rohingya's were forced to flee Myanmar in order to escape the deadly violence. The UN has described the Rohingya exodus as ethnic cleansing.

Supreme Court to hear Rohingya petition on January 31

A 19-year-old Muslim student was refused service at McDonald&#39;s in North London after a guard asked her to remove her hijab.&nbsp;

Her friend filmed the incident and uploaded the video to Twitter.

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Here is the video of the incident, occurring at McDonald&#39;s on Seven Sister&#39;s Road in Holloway, London. <a href="https://t.co/07acmBYdjB">pic.twitter.com/07acmBYdjB</a>
&mdash; Sabrina (@south_sab) <a href="https://twitter.com/south_sab/status/936543344964009986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The student, who wishes to be anonymous, said she was stopped in the McDonald&#39;s outlet on Seven Sister&#39;s road in Holloway and asked to get her hijab off multiple times and after she refused the guard said: &quot;It&rsquo;s just a matter of taking it off.&quot;&nbsp;

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not just a matter of taking it off. I wear this for religious reasons and I&rsquo;m not ashamed of it, and I will stand in line and I will get the food I want because this isn&rsquo;t OK,&rdquo; she replied.&nbsp;

After another customer tried to intervene to solve the matter, the guard said: &quot;It&rsquo;s none of your business.&quot;&nbsp;

A staff member told her friend to stop filming, to which she responded&nbsp;that it is her legal right to film whatever was happening at the moment.

The video ends with a woman saying: &quot;I have been living in the UK for 19 years now and this is the first time I&#39;m faced with this kind of discrimination and I am shocked. I am actually shocked.&quot;&nbsp;

The restaurant later issued an apology and informed that they have suspended the security guard.&nbsp;

In a statement, McDonald&#39;s said it has no policy which restricts or prevents anyone wearing a hijab, or any other religious attire, from entering our restaurants.

&quot;We welcome customers of all faiths and sincerely apologise for this situation. We are taking this matter very seriously and are addressing the situation with the individuals involved; the security guard, from a third party company, has been suspended,&quot; it said.

A guard asked her to take off her hijab if she wanted to order food

A 19-year-old Muslim student was refused service at McDonald's in North London after a guard asked her to remove her hijab. Her friend filmed the incident and uploaded the video to Twitter. Here is the video of the incident, occurring at McDonald's on Seven Sister's Road in Holloway, London. pic.twitter.com/07acmBYdjB — Sabrina (@south_sab) December 1, 2017 × The student, who wishes to be anonymous, said she was stopped in the McDonald's outlet on Seven Sister's road in Holloway and asked to get her hijab off multiple times and after she refused the guard said: "It’s just a matter of taking it off." “It’s not just a matter of taking it off. I wear this for religious reasons and I’m not ashamed of it, and I will stand in line and I will get the food I want because this isn’t OK,” she replied. After another customer tried to intervene to solve the matter, the guard said: "It’s none of your business." A staff member told her friend to stop filming, to which she responded that it is her legal right to film whatever was happening at the moment. The video ends with a woman saying: "I have been living in the UK for 19 years now and this is the first time I'm faced with this kind of discrimination and I am shocked. I am actually shocked." The restaurant later issued an apology and informed that they have suspended the security guard. In a statement, McDonald's said it has no policy which restricts or prevents anyone wearing a hijab, or any other religious attire, from entering our restaurants. "We welcome customers of all faiths and sincerely apologise for this situation. We are taking this matter very seriously and are addressing the situation with the individuals involved; the security guard, from a third party company, has been suspended," it said.

London: Muslim girl wearing hijab stopped from ordering at McDonald's

Pope Francis landed in Bangladesh on Thursday after a diplomatically sensitive trip to mainly Buddhist Myanmar, where he made no direct reference to the plight of Rohingya Muslims who have fled to Bangladesh in their hundreds of thousands.

The pope&rsquo;s trip to mostly Muslim Bangladesh is likely to less sensitive though his words will be closely watched following his decision not to use the word &ldquo;Rohingya&rdquo; in public during his four-day Myanmar trip to avoid a diplomatic incident with the country some have accused of ethnic cleansing.

On Friday, the pope is expected to meet a group of Rohingya refugees from among the roughly 625,000 who have fled to Bangladesh from neighboring Myanmar since the end of August.

&ldquo;He did not even pronounce the word &lsquo;Rohingya&rsquo; in Myanmar,&rdquo; H.T. Imam, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina&rsquo;s political adviser, told Reuters on Thursday.

&ldquo;Here we would be looking forward to what he says.&rdquo;

Bangladeshi President Abdul Hamid welcomed the pope at Dhaka airport. Hamid and the pope were both due to make speeches later in the day and to raise the refugee crisis.

The Vatican on Wednesday said the pope&rsquo;s moral authority was unblemished by his failure to refer to the persecuted Myanmar Muslim minority by the name they chose to identify themselves by, and his mere presence drew attention to the refugee crisis.

Pope Francis's trip to mostly Muslim Bangladesh is likely to be less sensitive, though his words will be closely watched following his decision not to use the word 'Rohingya' in public during his four-day Myanmar trip to avoid a diplomatic incident in the country

Pope Francis landed in Bangladesh on Thursday after a diplomatically sensitive trip to mainly Buddhist Myanmar, where he made no direct reference to the plight of Rohingya Muslims who have fled to Bangladesh in their hundreds of thousands. The pope’s trip to mostly Muslim Bangladesh is likely to less sensitive though his words will be closely watched following his decision not to use the word “Rohingya” in public during his four-day Myanmar trip to avoid a diplomatic incident with the country some have accused of ethnic cleansing. On Friday, the pope is expected to meet a group of Rohingya refugees from among the roughly 625,000 who have fled to Bangladesh from neighboring Myanmar since the end of August. “He did not even pronounce the word ‘Rohingya’ in Myanmar,” H.T. Imam, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s political adviser, told Reuters on Thursday. “Here we would be looking forward to what he says.” Bangladeshi President Abdul Hamid welcomed the pope at Dhaka airport. Hamid and the pope were both due to make speeches later in the day and to raise the refugee crisis. The Vatican on Wednesday said the pope’s moral authority was unblemished by his failure to refer to the persecuted Myanmar Muslim minority by the name they chose to identify themselves by, and his mere presence drew attention to the refugee crisis.

Rohingya crisis: After visiting Myanmar, Pope arrives in Bangladesh

President Donald Trump on Wednesday retweeted three anti-Muslim videos posted by the deputy head of a British far-right group who has been convicted of a hate crime, Jayda Fransen.

The first one shows&nbsp;a Muslim hitting a boy on crutches. The second one is seen as an Islamist mob pushing a teenager of a rooftop.

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Video 1 (Twitter)
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The third allegedly shows a Muslim throwing down and smashing a statue of the Virgin Mary.

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The video of the Virgin Mary statue being destroyed has been on YouTube for a long time.

Fransen was declared guilty last year with a hate crime after abusing a Muslim woman wearing a hijab.

Brendan Cox, the widower of MP Jo Cox who was killed by a right-wing extremist last year, said: &quot;Trump has legitimised the far right in his own country, now he&#39;s trying to do it in ours.&quot;

&quot;Spreading hatred has consequences &amp; the President should be ashamed of himself,&quot; he said.

David Lammy, an MP for the opposition Labour Party, said: &quot;The President of the United States is promoting a fascist, racist, extremist hate group whose leaders have been arrested and convicted.

&quot;He is no ally or friend of ours,&quot; he said.

Stephen Doughty, another Labour MP, said the videos were &quot;highly inflammatory&quot; and his colleague Yvette Cooper said Trump had given Fransen a &quot;huge platform&quot;.

Fransen appeared to celebrate the retweets saying: &quot;THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DONALD TRUMP, HAS RETWEETED THREE OF DEPUTY LEADER JAYDA FRANSEN&#39;S TWITTER VIDEOS! DONALD TRUMP HIMSELF HAS RETWEETED THESE VIDEOS AND HAS AROUND 44 MILLION FOLLOWERS! GOD BLESS YOU TRUMP! GOD BLESS AMERICA!&quot;

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THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DONALD TRUMP, HAS RETWEETED THREE OF DEPUTY LEADER JAYDA FRANSEN&#39;S TWITTER VIDEOS! DONALD TRUMP HIMSELF HAS RETWEETED THESE VIDEOS AND HAS AROUND 44 MILLION FOLLOWERS! GOD BLESS YOU TRUMP! GOD BLESS AMERICA! OCS <a href="https://twitter.com/JaydaBF?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JaydaBF</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> <a href="https://t.co/BiQfQkTra9">pic.twitter.com/BiQfQkTra9</a>
&mdash; Jayda Fransen (@JaydaBF) <a href="https://twitter.com/JaydaBF/status/935842051991711745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Trump&#39;s pokes&nbsp;in British politics and controversial foreign policy have weakened the so-called &quot;special relationship&quot;.

He has infuriated British authorities with his tweets on terrorism in Britain, including highly publicised run-ins with London mayor Sadiq Khan.

Wednesday&#39;s retweets were part of an early morning burst in which Trump again dismissed CNN as &quot;Fake News&quot; and insisted the US economy was in &quot;record territory&quot; by many measures.

US President Donald Trump was &quot;wrong&quot; to retweet three anti-Muslim videos posted by the deputy head of British far-right group Britain First, Prime Minister Theresa May&#39;s spokesman said.

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I hope our Government will condemn far-right retweets by Donald Trump. They are abhorrent, dangerous and a threat to our society.
&mdash; Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) <a href="https://twitter.com/jeremycorbyn/status/935867651859079168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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&quot;Britain First seeks to divide communities through their use of hateful narratives which peddle lies and stoke tensions. They cause anxiety to law abiding people,&quot; he said.

&quot;British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far right, which is the antithesis of the values that this country represents -- decency, tolerance and respect. It is wrong for the president to have done this.&quot;

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour party, had tweeted earlier: &quot;I hope our government will condemn far-right retweets by Donald Trump. They are abhorrent, dangerous and a threat to our society.&quot;

Trump's pokes?in British politics and controversial foreign policy have weakened the so-called "special relationship"

President Donald Trump on Wednesday retweeted three anti-Muslim videos posted by the deputy head of a British far-right group who has been convicted of a hate crime, Jayda Fransen. The first one shows a Muslim hitting a boy on crutches. The second one is seen as an Islamist mob pushing a teenager of a rooftop. Video 1 (Twitter) × Video 2 (Twitter) × The third allegedly shows a Muslim throwing down and smashing a statue of the Virgin Mary. Video 3 (Twitter) × The video of the Virgin Mary statue being destroyed has been on YouTube for a long time. Fransen was declared guilty last year with a hate crime after abusing a Muslim woman wearing a hijab. Brendan Cox, the widower of MP Jo Cox who was killed by a right-wing extremist last year, said: "Trump has legitimised the far right in his own country, now he's trying to do it in ours." "Spreading hatred has consequences & the President should be ashamed of himself," he said. David Lammy, an MP for the opposition Labour Party, said: "The President of the United States is promoting a fascist, racist, extremist hate group whose leaders have been arrested and convicted. "He is no ally or friend of ours," he said. Stephen Doughty, another Labour MP, said the videos were "highly inflammatory" and his colleague Yvette Cooper said Trump had given Fransen a "huge platform". Fransen appeared to celebrate the retweets saying: "THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DONALD TRUMP, HAS RETWEETED THREE OF DEPUTY LEADER JAYDA FRANSEN'S TWITTER VIDEOS! DONALD TRUMP HIMSELF HAS RETWEETED THESE VIDEOS AND HAS AROUND 44 MILLION FOLLOWERS! GOD BLESS YOU TRUMP! GOD BLESS AMERICA!" THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DONALD TRUMP, HAS RETWEETED THREE OF DEPUTY LEADER JAYDA FRANSEN'S TWITTER VIDEOS! DONALD TRUMP HIMSELF HAS RETWEETED THESE VIDEOS AND HAS AROUND 44 MILLION FOLLOWERS! GOD BLESS YOU TRUMP! GOD BLESS AMERICA! OCS @JaydaBF @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/BiQfQkTra9 — Jayda Fransen (@JaydaBF) November 29, 2017 × Trump's pokes in British politics and controversial foreign policy have weakened the so-called "special relationship". He has infuriated British authorities with his tweets on terrorism in Britain, including highly publicised run-ins with London mayor Sadiq Khan. Wednesday's retweets were part of an early morning burst in which Trump again dismissed CNN as "Fake News" and insisted the US economy was in "record territory" by many measures. US President Donald Trump was "wrong" to retweet three anti-Muslim videos posted by the deputy head of British far-right group Britain First, Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman said. I hope our Government will condemn far-right retweets by Donald Trump. They are abhorrent, dangerous and a threat to our society. — Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) November 29, 2017 × "Britain First seeks to divide communities through their use of hateful narratives which peddle lies and stoke tensions. They cause anxiety to law abiding people," he said. "British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far right, which is the antithesis of the values that this country represents -- decency, tolerance and respect. It is wrong for the president to have done this." Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour party, had tweeted earlier: "I hope our government will condemn far-right retweets by Donald Trump. They are abhorrent, dangerous and a threat to our society."

Trump retweets anti-Muslim videos posted by British far-right group head Jayda Fransen

Over 200 people were killed and many more injured in an attack on a Sufi mosque in Egypt&rsquo;s North Sinai region on Friday. The assault began with a bomb exploding as people were finishing their Friday prayers. As people fled and ambulances arrived, militants opened gunfire on them. It is the deadliest ever attack on civilians in Egypt&rsquo;s modern history.

This is not the first time a cherished Sufi site and Sufi worshipers have been the target of extremists. Earlier this year, in February, a bomb exploded at the tomb of a Sufi saint, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, in southeastern Pakistan. In 2016, combatants of the so-called Islamic State distributed images of the supposed execution of a Sufi teacher. The same year, the Pakistani Taliban murdered a popular Sufi singer of Pakistan, Amjad Sabri. In 2010 the tomb of another Sufi saint Data Ganj Bakhsh was bombed in Pakistan.

In the past, IS has claimed responsibility for some attacks against Sufis and their institutions, although no one so far has claimed responsibility for Friday&rsquo;s murderous assault.

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A devotee prays at the tomb of Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Pakistan. (Reuters)
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As a scholar of Muslim and Hindu traditions, I&rsquo;ve long appreciated the various and influential roles that Sufis and their tombs play in South Asian communities and many communities elsewhere in the world. From my perspective, the repercussions of the deplorable violence in Egypt and elsewhere go far beyond the scores of bodies strewn around the damaged shrine and the devastated families.

Many Muslims and non-Muslims around the globe celebrate Sufi saints and gather together for worship in their shrines. Such practices, however, do not conform to the Islamic ideologies of intolerant revivalist groups such as Islamic State. On the contrary, IS finds these practices threatening. Here&rsquo;s why.

Who are the Sufis?

The origins of the word &ldquo;Sufi&rdquo; come from an Arabic term for wool (suf). It references the unrefined wool clothes long worn by ancient west Asian ascetics and points to a common quality ascribed to Sufis &ndash; austerity.

Commonly Muslims viewed this austerity as stemming from a sincere religious devotion that compelled the Sufi into a close, personal relationship with God, modelled on aspects of the Prophet Muhammad&rsquo;s life. This often involved a more inward, contemplative focus than many other forms of Islamic practice.

In some instances, Sufis challenged contemporary norms in order to shock their Muslim neighbours into more religiously intentional lives. For example, an eighth-century female Sufi saint, known popularly as Rabia al-Adawiyya, is said to have walked through her hometown of Basra, in modern-day Iraq, with a lit torch in one hand and a bucket of water in another. When asked why she replied that she hoped to burn down heaven and douse hell&rsquo;s fire so people would &ndash; without concern for reward or punishment &ndash; love God.

Others used poetry in order to express their devotion. For example, the famous 13th-century Persian poet and Sufi leader Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi relied upon themes of love and desire to communicate the yearning for a heartfelt relationship with God. Yet others, such as such as Data Ganj Bakhsh, an 11th-century Sufi, wrote dense philosophical tracts that used complicated theological arguments to explain Sufi concepts to Islamic scholars.

Sufi veneration

Many Sufis are trained in &ldquo;tariqas&rdquo; (brotherhoods) in which teachers carefully shape students.

Rumi, for example, founded the famous &ldquo;Mevlevi&rdquo; order best known as &ldquo;whirling dervishes&rdquo; for their signature performance.

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This is a ritual in which practitioners deepen their relationship with God through a twirling dance intended to evoke a religious experience.

Some Sufis &ndash; men and, sometimes, women &ndash; came to gain such a reputation for their insight and miracles that they were seen to be guides and healers for the community. The miracles associated with them may have been performed in life or after death.

When some of these Sufis died, common folk came to view their tombs as places emanating &ldquo;baraka,&rdquo; a term connoting &ldquo;blessing,&rdquo; &ldquo;power&rdquo; and &ldquo;presence.&rdquo; Some devotees considered the baraka as boosting their prayers, while others considered it a miraculous energy that could be absorbed from proximity with the shrine.

For the devotees, the tombs-turned-shrines are places where God gives special attention to prayers. However, some devotees go so far as to pray for the deceased Sufi&rsquo;s personal intercession.

A place of interfaith worship?

So, why do some groups like the so-called Islamic State violently oppose them?

I argue, there are two reasons: First, some Sufis &ndash; as illustrated by Rabia, the Sufi from Basra &ndash; deliberately flout the Islamic conventions of their peers, which causes many in their communities to condemn their unorthodox views and practices.

Second, many Muslims, not just militants, consider shrine devotion as superstitious and idolatrous. The popularity among Muslims and non-Muslims of tomb veneration alarms many conservative Muslims.

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Devotees light oil lamps at the shrine of Muslim saint Data Ganj Bakhsh in Lahore, Pakistan. (Reuters)
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When a Sufi tomb grows in reputation for its miraculous powers, then an increasing number of people begin to frequent it to seek blessings. The tombs often become a gathering place for Hindus, Christians, Sikhs and people from other faiths.

In South Asia, special songs of praise &ndash; &ldquo;qawwali&rdquo; &ndash; are sung at these shrines that express Islamic values using the imagery of love and devotion. In other regions, other traditions of devotion have emerged, while zikr (&ldquo;litany recitation&rdquo;) is widely popular.

However, despite the divergent ideologies and goals that differentiate them from one another, intolerant Islamist groups such as the Taliban and the so-called Islamic State reject shrine worship as well as dancing and singing as un-Islamic (hence the Pakistani Taliban&rsquo;s assassination of the world-famous qawwali singer Amjad Sabri). In their view, prayers to Sufis are idolatrous.

Success of Sufi traditions

Sufi customs reflect a vastly underreported quality about Islamic traditions in general. While some revivalist Muslim movements such as the Wahhabis and other Salafis see only one way of being Muslim, there are others who embrace the diversity of Islamic traditions.

Many Muslims proudly defend Sufi customs such as shrine devotions because they are so integral to Muslim and non-Muslim communities, not only in South Asia but in various regions of the world. Today, about 15 percent of Egypt&rsquo;s population belong to Sufi orders or practice Sufi traditions. They play crucial roles in their locale and region. For many, Sufi sites offer an Islamic expression of what it means to love God.

In fact, historically, in many regions of the world Sufis have been highly successful in adapting Islamic theologies and practices to local customs for non-Muslims. For this reason, Sufi traditions have been credited for the majority of conversions to Islam in South Asia.

It is only with the global expansion of Islamist revivalist groups in the last century that the urge to absolute conformity has become so strong and pervasive. Even so, a majority of Muslims continues to accept a diversity of Islamic practices.

Given the popularity of Sufis, it&rsquo;s no wonder the so-called Islamic State objects to such models of Islamic pluralism. The ferocity of the recent attack in Egypt and the possible involvement of a suicide bomber demonstrate not only the strength of beliefs in this regard but also how influential IS and other extremists judge both the prominence and the popularity of Sufi traditions.

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" rel="nofollow" target="blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/who-are-the-sufis-and-why-does-is-see-them-as-threatening-73431" rel="nofollow" target="blank">original article</a>.

(Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).

A new attack on a Sufi mosque in Egypt drives home the hatred of Islamic State and other some other Muslim groups for the Sufi traditions of inclusiveness and mystical worship

Over 200 people were killed and many more injured in an attack on a Sufi mosque in Egypt’s North Sinai region on Friday. The assault began with a bomb exploding as people were finishing their Friday prayers. As people fled and ambulances arrived, militants opened gunfire on them. It is the deadliest ever attack on civilians in Egypt’s modern history. This is not the first time a cherished Sufi site and Sufi worshipers have been the target of extremists. Earlier this year, in February, a bomb exploded at the tomb of a Sufi saint, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, in southeastern Pakistan. In 2016, combatants of the so-called Islamic State distributed images of the supposed execution of a Sufi teacher. The same year, the Pakistani Taliban murdered a popular Sufi singer of Pakistan, Amjad Sabri. In 2010 the tomb of another Sufi saint Data Ganj Bakhsh was bombed in Pakistan. In the past, IS has claimed responsibility for some attacks against Sufis and their institutions, although no one so far has claimed responsibility for Friday’s murderous assault. A devotee prays at the tomb of Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Pakistan. (Reuters) × As a scholar of Muslim and Hindu traditions, I’ve long appreciated the various and influential roles that Sufis and their tombs play in South Asian communities and many communities elsewhere in the world. From my perspective, the repercussions of the deplorable violence in Egypt and elsewhere go far beyond the scores of bodies strewn around the damaged shrine and the devastated families. Many Muslims and non-Muslims around the globe celebrate Sufi saints and gather together for worship in their shrines. Such practices, however, do not conform to the Islamic ideologies of intolerant revivalist groups such as Islamic State. On the contrary, IS finds these practices threatening. Here’s why. Who are the Sufis? The origins of the word “Sufi” come from an Arabic term for wool (suf). It references the unrefined wool clothes long worn by ancient west Asian ascetics and points to a common quality ascribed to Sufis – austerity. Commonly Muslims viewed this austerity as stemming from a sincere religious devotion that compelled the Sufi into a close, personal relationship with God, modelled on aspects of the Prophet Muhammad’s life. This often involved a more inward, contemplative focus than many other forms of Islamic practice. In some instances, Sufis challenged contemporary norms in order to shock their Muslim neighbours into more religiously intentional lives. For example, an eighth-century female Sufi saint, known popularly as Rabia al-Adawiyya, is said to have walked through her hometown of Basra, in modern-day Iraq, with a lit torch in one hand and a bucket of water in another. When asked why she replied that she hoped to burn down heaven and douse hell’s fire so people would – without concern for reward or punishment – love God. Others used poetry in order to express their devotion. For example, the famous 13th-century Persian poet and Sufi leader Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi relied upon themes of love and desire to communicate the yearning for a heartfelt relationship with God. Yet others, such as such as Data Ganj Bakhsh, an 11th-century Sufi, wrote dense philosophical tracts that used complicated theological arguments to explain Sufi concepts to Islamic scholars. Sufi veneration Many Sufis are trained in “tariqas” (brotherhoods) in which teachers carefully shape students. Rumi, for example, founded the famous “Mevlevi” order best known as “whirling dervishes” for their signature performance. × This is a ritual in which practitioners deepen their relationship with God through a twirling dance intended to evoke a religious experience. Some Sufis – men and, sometimes, women – came to gain such a reputation for their insight and miracles that they were seen to be guides and healers for the community. The miracles associated with them may have been performed in life or after death. When some of these Sufis died, common folk came to view their tombs as places emanating “baraka,” a term connoting “blessing,” “power” and “presence.” Some devotees considered the baraka as boosting their prayers, while others considered it a miraculous energy that could be absorbed from proximity with the shrine. For the devotees, the tombs-turned-shrines are places where God gives special attention to prayers. However, some devotees go so far as to pray for the deceased Sufi’s personal intercession. A place of interfaith worship? So, why do some groups like the so-called Islamic State violently oppose them? I argue, there are two reasons: First, some Sufis – as illustrated by Rabia, the Sufi from Basra – deliberately flout the Islamic conventions of their peers, which causes many in their communities to condemn their unorthodox views and practices. Second, many Muslims, not just militants, consider shrine devotion as superstitious and idolatrous. The popularity among Muslims and non-Muslims of tomb veneration alarms many conservative Muslims. Devotees light oil lamps at the shrine of Muslim saint Data Ganj Bakhsh in Lahore, Pakistan. (Reuters) × When a Sufi tomb grows in reputation for its miraculous powers, then an increasing number of people begin to frequent it to seek blessings. The tombs often become a gathering place for Hindus, Christians, Sikhs and people from other faiths. In South Asia, special songs of praise – “qawwali” – are sung at these shrines that express Islamic values using the imagery of love and devotion. In other regions, other traditions of devotion have emerged, while zikr (“litany recitation”) is widely popular. However, despite the divergent ideologies and goals that differentiate them from one another, intolerant Islamist groups such as the Taliban and the so-called Islamic State reject shrine worship as well as dancing and singing as un-Islamic (hence the Pakistani Taliban’s assassination of the world-famous qawwali singer Amjad Sabri). In their view, prayers to Sufis are idolatrous. Success of Sufi traditions Sufi customs reflect a vastly underreported quality about Islamic traditions in general. While some revivalist Muslim movements such as the Wahhabis and other Salafis see only one way of being Muslim, there are others who embrace the diversity of Islamic traditions. Many Muslims proudly defend Sufi customs such as shrine devotions because they are so integral to Muslim and non-Muslim communities, not only in South Asia but in various regions of the world. Today, about 15 percent of Egypt’s population belong to Sufi orders or practice Sufi traditions. They play crucial roles in their locale and region. For many, Sufi sites offer an Islamic expression of what it means to love God. In fact, historically, in many regions of the world Sufis have been highly successful in adapting Islamic theologies and practices to local customs for non-Muslims. For this reason, Sufi traditions have been credited for the majority of conversions to Islam in South Asia. It is only with the global expansion of Islamist revivalist groups in the last century that the urge to absolute conformity has become so strong and pervasive. Even so, a majority of Muslims continues to accept a diversity of Islamic practices. Given the popularity of Sufis, it’s no wonder the so-called Islamic State objects to such models of Islamic pluralism. The ferocity of the recent attack in Egypt and the possible involvement of a suicide bomber demonstrate not only the strength of beliefs in this regard but also how influential IS and other extremists judge both the prominence and the popularity of Sufi traditions. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. (Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).

Opinion: Terrified of Sufis, the IS attacked mosque in Egypt

In this day and age, whenever we read the newspaper, turn on the radio or television, log on to the Internet, or simply open our eyes and look around, we are confronted with all sorts of evidence confirming ever-present religious intolerance, which certainly raises red flags concerning the age-old perennial idea of the oneness of all religious traditions.

If this were the case, we would not have wars fought over religion, hate crimes against members of other faiths, discrimination, and so on. Instead, we would all gather together holding hands to dance happily around the campfire. It is all too easy to ignore differences at the expense of claiming some sort of illusory oneness that unites human beings across, racial, national, ethnic, and linguistic lines.

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<h5>There still are some people in the world who advocate a liberal outlook on the interaction and interpenetration of religions.</h5>
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Indeed the practices of a Roman Catholic parishioner in the Philippines or Sri Lanka might seem as alien to an Italian or American Catholic as an obscure ritual originating in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Yet thankfully there still are some people in the world who advocate a liberal outlook on the interaction and interpenetration of religions.

India, for example, has seen its fair share of communal violence over the centuries, especially since the painful years of the Partition that led to the division of Bharat into two modern nation-states based precisely on religious orientation. Much of that animosity continues today on all sides of the Indian border and recent atrocities against the Muslim Rohingya in Buddhist Myanmar remind us that intolerance more often than not flares up into mass violence on unprecedented scales. Amidst the almost daily accounts of religious tension and conflict echoing throughout South Asia, it is sobering to escape the constant attack on the senses experienced in South Asian cities and retreat to the countryside, where life slows down just enough to become quiet and even tranquil at times.

Roughly ninety kilometres south of Kolkata, lies a small, almost unnoticeable village called Naya, which is located in Medinipur District, West Bengal. I first went there in 2001, just a few months after the terrible attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. There, in the middle of rice paddy fields, along a pockmarked asphalt road with a tea stall on each side, my overcrowded bus stopped.

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I alighted and immediately met Gurupada Chitrakar, a member of a community known as Patuas because they paint pats, narrative scrolls that tell stories about ancient lore located in the Hindu epics and Puranas, but also some about Sufi saints. These have been supplemented in recent decades by narratives about secular topics, such as ecological issues, environmental tragedies, and the pros and cons of globalisation. Indeed, they now dare sing about once-taboo topics such as HIV/AIDS and dowry death. They even sing about 9/11, the late Osama Bin Laden, and other such pertinent matters of global import.

Gurupada became my guide, as I pursued my studies of this remarkable community during a Fulbright Fellowship year in 2004-2005, which resulted in a museum exhibition held during 2006 in the United States and my illustrated book titled Village of Painters that accompanied the display of scrolls that I organised at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Gurupada introduced me to his teacher, the &ldquo;guru&rdquo; of the village whose poetic name was Dukhushyam Chitrakar, an individual who looked virtually twice his age but nevertheless beamed with charismatic authority. I spent many hours drinking tea and smoking bidies with him, as he told me about the Patuas&rsquo; unique position betwixt and between Hindus and Muslims, among whom his scroll-painting community lived side by side.

According to Dukhushyam, they are &ldquo;na Hindu na Musalman,&rdquo; neither Hindu nor Muslim. Instead, they inhabit a perpetual position between the two communities, acting as sorts of mediators between the two. I continuously learned about how they respected the customs of both Hindus and Muslims in their daily lives, respecting both mosque and temple. When communal violence would flare up, they would immediately take up the cause of tolerance. The best example of this that I encountered during my many stays in the village was their collective stance on the violence that surrounded the destruction of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.

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<h5>We are the human race, one mother&rsquo;s offspring. Hindus and Muslims we&rsquo;re all brothers, brothers.</h5>
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Gurupada Chitrakar sang me the following song he composed to go along with the unravelling of a scroll about the tragic incident that pitted Hindus and Muslims against each other, mostly motivated by political concerns. The song that I have translated literally from Bengali into English here goes like this:

We are the human race, one mother&rsquo;s offspring. 
We are the human race, one mother&rsquo;s offspring. 
Some of us became Hindus. 
Again, some became Muslims. 
One mother&rsquo;s offspring. 
Adam&rsquo;s wife became pregnant. 
Sabil and Kabil took birth. 
Sabil and Kabil took birth. 
Those two brothers took two religions. 
Those two brothers took two religions. 
Look, look, there is proof in the scriptures! 
One mother&rsquo;s offspring.

We are the human race, one mother&rsquo;s offspring. 
Marang Burung, say the Santals. 
And again the Christians say, they say God. 
And again the Christians say, they say God. 
Again, those Muslims say Allah. 
Again, those Muslims say Allah. 
Hindus say Bhagavan. 
One mother&rsquo;s offspring.

We are the human race, one mother&rsquo;s offspring. 
Usurping religion, politics wanders from place to place. 
Abandoning all that, sir, everyone live in harmony. 
Abandoning all that, sir, everyone live in harmony. 
In the name of religion, fighting and killing place after place. 
Abandoning all that, sir, everyone live in harmony. 
That which is God (ishvar), is nature (prakriti) itself. 
Today, though, science is giving proof. 
One mother&rsquo;s offspring.

We are the human race, one mother&rsquo;s offspring. 
Hindus and Muslims we&rsquo;re all brothers, brothers. 
But aside from human nature there is no other actual religion. 
But aside from human nature there is no other actual religion. 
How could we fight with these brothers, brothers. 
We, that is, how could we fight with these brothers, brothers.

We are the human race, one mother&rsquo;s offspring. 
That&rsquo;s why, everyone get together and worry. 
Destroy this animosity encompassing castes. 
That&rsquo;s why we should all get together and move forward. 
Destroy this caste animosity. 
Lets&rsquo; go, we&rsquo;ll all say it together. 
We&rsquo;ll all say the slogan. 
One mother&rsquo;s offspring. 
We are the human race, one mother&rsquo;s offspring.

The clever reference to the Adam and Eve creation story shared by the Abrahamic faiths here serves as a perfect vehicle to bring Hindus and Muslims together into the same parivar (family). By claiming that Hindus and Muslims both descended from Cain and Able (Qabil and Sabil in Arabic), Gurupada urges us to be sensible and humanistic; otherwise, we would be just like lower simians.

&ldquo;How can one attack and kill one&rsquo;s own brother or sexually violate one&rsquo;s own sister,&rdquo; he asked me? Gurupada and his extended Patua clan have a point. We are, indeed &ldquo;one mother&rsquo;s offspring,&rdquo; ek mayer santan in Bengali, and could learn much from this simple wisdom. Feuding like the legendary Hatfields and McCoys of American folklore flies in the face of civility. Let&rsquo;s all remember our common source of humanity, and when spurred by anger to lash out at others who do not necessarily share our personal worldview, recall Gurupada&rsquo;s chant: One mother&rsquo;s offspring.

(Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).

Image Credit: Frank J. Korom

Let?s all remember our common source of humanity, and when spurred by anger to lash out at others who do not necessarily share our personal worldview, recall Gurupada?s chant: One mother?s offspring.

In this day and age, whenever we read the newspaper, turn on the radio or television, log on to the Internet, or simply open our eyes and look around, we are confronted with all sorts of evidence confirming ever-present religious intolerance, which certainly raises red flags concerning the age-old perennial idea of the oneness of all religious traditions. If this were the case, we would not have wars fought over religion, hate crimes against members of other faiths, discrimination, and so on. Instead, we would all gather together holding hands to dance happily around the campfire. It is all too easy to ignore differences at the expense of claiming some sort of illusory oneness that unites human beings across, racial, national, ethnic, and linguistic lines. There still are some people in the world who advocate a liberal outlook on the interaction and interpenetration of religions. × Indeed the practices of a Roman Catholic parishioner in the Philippines or Sri Lanka might seem as alien to an Italian or American Catholic as an obscure ritual originating in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Yet thankfully there still are some people in the world who advocate a liberal outlook on the interaction and interpenetration of religions. India, for example, has seen its fair share of communal violence over the centuries, especially since the painful years of the Partition that led to the division of Bharat into two modern nation-states based precisely on religious orientation. Much of that animosity continues today on all sides of the Indian border and recent atrocities against the Muslim Rohingya in Buddhist Myanmar remind us that intolerance more often than not flares up into mass violence on unprecedented scales. Amidst the almost daily accounts of religious tension and conflict echoing throughout South Asia, it is sobering to escape the constant attack on the senses experienced in South Asian cities and retreat to the countryside, where life slows down just enough to become quiet and even tranquil at times. Roughly ninety kilometres south of Kolkata, lies a small, almost unnoticeable village called Naya, which is located in Medinipur District, West Bengal. I first went there in 2001, just a few months after the terrible attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. There, in the middle of rice paddy fields, along a pockmarked asphalt road with a tea stall on each side, my overcrowded bus stopped. I met Gurupada Chitrakar, a member of a community known as Patuas because they paint pats, narrative scrolls that tell stories about ancient lore located in the Hindu epics and Puranas. × I alighted and immediately met Gurupada Chitrakar, a member of a community known as Patuas because they paint pats, narrative scrolls that tell stories about ancient lore located in the Hindu epics and Puranas, but also some about Sufi saints. These have been supplemented in recent decades by narratives about secular topics, such as ecological issues, environmental tragedies, and the pros and cons of globalisation. Indeed, they now dare sing about once-taboo topics such as HIV/AIDS and dowry death. They even sing about 9/11, the late Osama Bin Laden, and other such pertinent matters of global import. Gurupada became my guide, as I pursued my studies of this remarkable community during a Fulbright Fellowship year in 2004-2005, which resulted in a museum exhibition held during 2006 in the United States and my illustrated book titled Village of Painters that accompanied the display of scrolls that I organised at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Gurupada introduced me to his teacher, the “guru” of the village whose poetic name was Dukhushyam Chitrakar, an individual who looked virtually twice his age but nevertheless beamed with charismatic authority. I spent many hours drinking tea and smoking bidies with him, as he told me about the Patuas’ unique position betwixt and between Hindus and Muslims, among whom his scroll-painting community lived side by side. According to Dukhushyam, they are “na Hindu na Musalman,” neither Hindu nor Muslim. Instead, they inhabit a perpetual position between the two communities, acting as sorts of mediators between the two. I continuously learned about how they respected the customs of both Hindus and Muslims in their daily lives, respecting both mosque and temple. When communal violence would flare up, they would immediately take up the cause of tolerance. The best example of this that I encountered during my many stays in the village was their collective stance on the violence that surrounded the destruction of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. We are the human race, one mother’s offspring. Hindus and Muslims we’re all brothers, brothers. × Gurupada Chitrakar sang me the following song he composed to go along with the unravelling of a scroll about the tragic incident that pitted Hindus and Muslims against each other, mostly motivated by political concerns. The song that I have translated literally from Bengali into English here goes like this: We are the human race, one mother’s offspring. We are the human race, one mother’s offspring. Some of us became Hindus. Again, some became Muslims. One mother’s offspring. Adam’s wife became pregnant. Sabil and Kabil took birth. Sabil and Kabil took birth. Those two brothers took two religions. Those two brothers took two religions. Look, look, there is proof in the scriptures! One mother’s offspring. We are the human race, one mother’s offspring. Marang Burung, say the Santals. And again the Christians say, they say God. And again the Christians say, they say God. Again, those Muslims say Allah. Again, those Muslims say Allah. Hindus say Bhagavan. One mother’s offspring. We are the human race, one mother’s offspring. Usurping religion, politics wanders from place to place. Abandoning all that, sir, everyone live in harmony. Abandoning all that, sir, everyone live in harmony. In the name of religion, fighting and killing place after place. Abandoning all that, sir, everyone live in harmony. That which is God (ishvar), is nature (prakriti) itself. Today, though, science is giving proof. One mother’s offspring. We are the human race, one mother’s offspring. Hindus and Muslims we’re all brothers, brothers. But aside from human nature there is no other actual religion. But aside from human nature there is no other actual religion. How could we fight with these brothers, brothers. We, that is, how could we fight with these brothers, brothers. We are the human race, one mother’s offspring. That’s why, everyone get together and worry. Destroy this animosity encompassing castes. That’s why we should all get together and move forward. Destroy this caste animosity. Lets’ go, we’ll all say it together. We’ll all say the slogan. One mother’s offspring. We are the human race, one mother’s offspring. The clever reference to the Adam and Eve creation story shared by the Abrahamic faiths here serves as a perfect vehicle to bring Hindus and Muslims together into the same parivar (family). By claiming that Hindus and Muslims both descended from Cain and Able (Qabil and Sabil in Arabic), Gurupada urges us to be sensible and humanistic; otherwise, we would be just like lower simians. “How can one attack and kill one’s own brother or sexually violate one’s own sister,” he asked me? Gurupada and his extended Patua clan have a point. We are, indeed “one mother’s offspring,” ek mayer santan in Bengali, and could learn much from this simple wisdom. Feuding like the legendary Hatfields and McCoys of American folklore flies in the face of civility. Let’s all remember our common source of humanity, and when spurred by anger to lash out at others who do not necessarily share our personal worldview, recall Gurupada’s chant: One mother’s offspring. (Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity). Image Credit: Frank J. Korom

Opinion: Religious tolerance in an age of intolerance

The Shiv Sena on Friday said if the government decided to introduce a legislation for a ban on triple talaq it would permanently free Muslim women.&nbsp;

The Supreme court&nbsp;in August described <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/triple-talaq-centre-likely-to-introduce-bill-in-winter-session-of-parliament-to-end-practice-24747">instant Talaq </a>&#39;unconstitutional.&#39;&nbsp;The Centre is likely to introduce a bill in the winter session of the Parliament to end Triple Talaq.

It is said that once the law is proposed to declare triple Talaq as an offence, people will have the right to go to the police for redressal of their complaints and for action to be taken against their spouse, reports also said.

A ministerial committee has decided to carry out a proper legislation or amend the existing penal provisions, stating the Triple talaq as a felony.

The party also took potshots at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by talking about a number of concerns &mdash; the promise of building Ram temple at Ayodhya, execution of uniform civil code and repealing Article 370, which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

&ldquo;The way the Union government is following directives of the Supreme Court on triple talaq, it should do the same with the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). The Supreme Court had given directives to the Centre thrice over the UCC but the government has still not taken any step toward it,&rdquo; the party claimed.

Earlier this month, Yasmeen Khalid, the wife of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) professor Khalid Bin Yusuf Khan had alleged that she was given instant divorce by her husband on WhatsApp.

Prime Minister led Bharatiya Janata Party government has opposed the system, terming the practice of husbands verbally divorcing wives as unfair to women.

(with inputs from agencies)

The Supreme court, in August, had directed to eliminate the system of instant Talaq as 'unconstitutional.'?

The Shiv Sena on Friday said if the government decided to introduce a legislation for a ban on triple talaq it would permanently free Muslim women. The Supreme court in August described instant Talaq 'unconstitutional.' The Centre is likely to introduce a bill in the winter session of the Parliament to end Triple Talaq. It is said that once the law is proposed to declare triple Talaq as an offence, people will have the right to go to the police for redressal of their complaints and for action to be taken against their spouse, reports also said. A ministerial committee has decided to carry out a proper legislation or amend the existing penal provisions, stating the Triple talaq as a felony. The party also took potshots at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by talking about a number of concerns — the promise of building Ram temple at Ayodhya, execution of uniform civil code and repealing Article 370, which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir. “The way the Union government is following directives of the Supreme Court on triple talaq, it should do the same with the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). The Supreme Court had given directives to the Centre thrice over the UCC but the government has still not taken any step toward it,” the party claimed. Earlier this month, Yasmeen Khalid, the wife of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) professor Khalid Bin Yusuf Khan had alleged that she was given instant divorce by her husband on WhatsApp. Prime Minister led Bharatiya Janata Party government has opposed the system, terming the practice of husbands verbally divorcing wives as unfair to women. (with inputs from agencies)

Bill banning Triple Talaq would free Muslim women: Shiv Sena

Blessed by calmer seas, several hundred more Rohingya Muslims on Thursday joined a multitude of refugees in Bangladesh, as calls grew for upcoming regional summits to exert more pressure on Myanmar&rsquo;s Aung San Suu Kyi to stem the crisis.

A Myanmar military operation has driven out more than 600,000 Rohingya since late August and the latest refugees to find sanctuary in predominantly Muslim Bangladesh say many thousands more are still trying to leave.

Ariful Islam, of Bangladesh&rsquo;s Border Guard, said about 200 people arrived on Thursday morning on the stretch of coast he commands at Teknaf, on the southern tip of Cox&rsquo;s Bazar district.

Abdus Sabir was among a group that came ashore at Shamlapur after a six-hour boat journey, the final leg of an escape begun weeks ago.

&ldquo;We fled because the military is still burning our houses,&rdquo; Abdus, who had abandoned his home in the Rathedaung region of Myanmar&rsquo;s Rakhine State, told Reuters.

Nearby, Husain Shorif, from the Buthidaung region, said he had rowed for four hours to help bring across 56 people on a raft cobbled together from bamboo and plastic jerrycans.

&ldquo;Some boatmen were asking for huge money we didn&rsquo;t have. So we made our own boat and came,&rdquo; Shorif said, adding that thousands more Rohingya were still stranded at Pa Nyaung Pin Gyi at the mouth of the Naf river.

A Myanmar military operation has driven out more than 600,000 Rohingya since late August and the latest refugees to find sanctuary in predominantly Muslim Bangladesh say many thousands more are still trying to leave.

Ariful Islam, of Bangladesh&rsquo;s Border Guard, said about 200 people arrived on Thursday morning on the stretch of coast he commands at Teknaf, on the southern tip of Cox&rsquo;s Bazar district.

Abdus Sabir was among a group that came ashore at Shamlapur after a six-hour boat journey, the final leg of an escape begun weeks ago.

&ldquo;We fled because the military is still burning our houses,&rdquo; Abdus, who had abandoned his home in the Rathedaung region of Myanmar&rsquo;s Rakhine State, told Reuters.

Nearby, Husain Shorif, from the Buthidaung region, said he had rowed for four hours to help bring across 56 people on a raft cobbled together from bamboo and plastic jerrycans.

&ldquo;Some boatmen were asking for huge money we didn&rsquo;t have. So we made our own boat and came,&rdquo; Shorif said, adding that thousands more Rohingya were still stranded at Pa Nyaung Pin Gyi at the mouth of the Naf river.

Reuters were unable to verify that claim as Myanmar&rsquo;s military has restricted access to northern parts of Rakhine, where it launched a clearance operation it says was aimed at Rohingya militants behind attacks on 30 security posts on Aug. 25, but which UN officials described as &ldquo;ethnic cleansing&rdquo;.

The storm of opprobrium over the humanitarian crisis will expose Myanmar to more diplomatic pressure, at least from leaders of Muslim-majority countries and the United States, during three summits hosted by Vietnam and the Philippines.

Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of Myanmar&rsquo;s less than two-year-old civilian administration, left on Thursday to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Vietnam&rsquo;s central seaside resort of Danang.

Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for standing up to the generals who had ruled the country for nearly half a century, Suu Kyi now effectively shares power with them, under a constitution drawn up in 2008 when junta was still in control, and has little control over what they do.

After Friday&rsquo;s APEC summit, Suu Kyi will attend a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) grouping in Manila on Sunday, followed by an East Asia Summit in Angeles, just north of the Philippine capital.

Setting up a regional trade block, and concerns over North Korea&rsquo;s ambitions to become a nuclear-armed state are summit priorities, but New York-based Human Rights Watch beseeched them to ensure stronger action by Myanmar to end the crisis.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will meet Suu Kyi on Nov. 15 for talks on the Rohingya crisis, and they are expected to hold a joint news conference.

<h3>OUTCRY</h3>

&ldquo;World leaders shouldn&rsquo;t return home from these summits without agreeing to targeted sanctions to pressure Burma to end its abuses and allow in independent observers and aid groups,&rdquo; Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement that referred to Myanmar by its old name.

Adams said the leaders should discuss how to investigate alleged rights abuses and atrocities in Rakhine, and refer them to the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

The rights group also urged the Security Council to impose an arms embargo, economic sanctions and travel bans targeting Myanmar military officials.

U.S. senators seek to adopt measures for the United States to impose such sanctions.

The Security Council this week opted for a strongly worded statement scolding Myanmar, as diplomats said China and Russia would have vetoed any resolution.

China has publicly supported the Myanmar government&rsquo;s efforts to &ldquo;maintain stability&rdquo; in Rakhine. The stance taken by China and other Southeast Asian governments fighting insurgencies by Muslim militants should spare Myanmar from any harsh spotlight in the summits&rsquo; final communiques.

&ldquo;On the Rohingya, the leaders will agree that there is no quick fix to the long-standing inter-communal problem with deep historical roots that needs to be carefully managed,&rdquo; an ASEAN diplomat told Reuters, adding that the group aimed to deliver $500,000 of relief supplies to Myanmar.

&nbsp;

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A Myanmar military operation has driven out more than 600,000 Rohingya since late August and the latest refugees to find sanctuary in predominantly Muslim Bangladesh say many thousands more are still trying to leave.

Blessed by calmer seas, several hundred more Rohingya Muslims on Thursday joined a multitude of refugees in Bangladesh, as calls grew for upcoming regional summits to exert more pressure on Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi to stem the crisis. A Myanmar military operation has driven out more than 600,000 Rohingya since late August and the latest refugees to find sanctuary in predominantly Muslim Bangladesh say many thousands more are still trying to leave. Ariful Islam, of Bangladesh’s Border Guard, said about 200 people arrived on Thursday morning on the stretch of coast he commands at Teknaf, on the southern tip of Cox’s Bazar district. Abdus Sabir was among a group that came ashore at Shamlapur after a six-hour boat journey, the final leg of an escape begun weeks ago. “We fled because the military is still burning our houses,” Abdus, who had abandoned his home in the Rathedaung region of Myanmar’s Rakhine State, told Reuters. Nearby, Husain Shorif, from the Buthidaung region, said he had rowed for four hours to help bring across 56 people on a raft cobbled together from bamboo and plastic jerrycans. “Some boatmen were asking for huge money we didn’t have. So we made our own boat and came,” Shorif said, adding that thousands more Rohingya were still stranded at Pa Nyaung Pin Gyi at the mouth of the Naf river. A Myanmar military operation has driven out more than 600,000 Rohingya since late August and the latest refugees to find sanctuary in predominantly Muslim Bangladesh say many thousands more are still trying to leave. Ariful Islam, of Bangladesh’s Border Guard, said about 200 people arrived on Thursday morning on the stretch of coast he commands at Teknaf, on the southern tip of Cox’s Bazar district. Abdus Sabir was among a group that came ashore at Shamlapur after a six-hour boat journey, the final leg of an escape begun weeks ago. “We fled because the military is still burning our houses,” Abdus, who had abandoned his home in the Rathedaung region of Myanmar’s Rakhine State, told Reuters. Nearby, Husain Shorif, from the Buthidaung region, said he had rowed for four hours to help bring across 56 people on a raft cobbled together from bamboo and plastic jerrycans. “Some boatmen were asking for huge money we didn’t have. So we made our own boat and came,” Shorif said, adding that thousands more Rohingya were still stranded at Pa Nyaung Pin Gyi at the mouth of the Naf river. Reuters were unable to verify that claim as Myanmar’s military has restricted access to northern parts of Rakhine, where it launched a clearance operation it says was aimed at Rohingya militants behind attacks on 30 security posts on Aug. 25, but which UN officials described as “ethnic cleansing”. The storm of opprobrium over the humanitarian crisis will expose Myanmar to more diplomatic pressure, at least from leaders of Muslim-majority countries and the United States, during three summits hosted by Vietnam and the Philippines. Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of Myanmar’s less than two-year-old civilian administration, left on Thursday to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Vietnam’s central seaside resort of Danang. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for standing up to the generals who had ruled the country for nearly half a century, Suu Kyi now effectively shares power with them, under a constitution drawn up in 2008 when junta was still in control, and has little control over what they do. After Friday’s APEC summit, Suu Kyi will attend a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) grouping in Manila on Sunday, followed by an East Asia Summit in Angeles, just north of the Philippine capital. Setting up a regional trade block, and concerns over North Korea’s ambitions to become a nuclear-armed state are summit priorities, but New York-based Human Rights Watch beseeched them to ensure stronger action by Myanmar to end the crisis. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will meet Suu Kyi on Nov. 15 for talks on the Rohingya crisis, and they are expected to hold a joint news conference. OUTCRY “World leaders shouldn’t return home from these summits without agreeing to targeted sanctions to pressure Burma to end its abuses and allow in independent observers and aid groups,” Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement that referred to Myanmar by its old name. Adams said the leaders should discuss how to investigate alleged rights abuses and atrocities in Rakhine, and refer them to the International Criminal Court in the Hague. The rights group also urged the Security Council to impose an arms embargo, economic sanctions and travel bans targeting Myanmar military officials. U.S. senators seek to adopt measures for the United States to impose such sanctions. The Security Council this week opted for a strongly worded statement scolding Myanmar, as diplomats said China and Russia would have vetoed any resolution. China has publicly supported the Myanmar government’s efforts to “maintain stability” in Rakhine. The stance taken by China and other Southeast Asian governments fighting insurgencies by Muslim militants should spare Myanmar from any harsh spotlight in the summits’ final communiques. “On the Rohingya, the leaders will agree that there is no quick fix to the long-standing inter-communal problem with deep historical roots that needs to be carefully managed,” an ASEAN diplomat told Reuters, adding that the group aimed to deliver $500,000 of relief supplies to Myanmar.

Rohingya row to Bangladesh as Myanmar's Suu Kyi runs summit gauntlet

Myanmar has blamed Bangladesh for delaying the start of a repatriation process for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees, saying it feared Dhaka could be stalling until it receives multi-million dollars of international aid money.

More than 600,000 Rohingya have fled predominantly Buddhist Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh since late August to escape ethnic violence that accompanied a brutal military counter-insurgency operation after Rohingya militant attacks on security posts in Myanmar&#39;s Rakhine State.

Zaw Htay, a spokesman for Myanmar&#39;s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, said Myanmar was ready to begin the repatriation process any time, based along the lines of an agreement that covered returns of Rohingya to Myanmar in the early 1990s.

He said Bangladesh had yet to accept those terms.

&quot;We are ready to start, but the other side did not accept yet, and the process was delayed. This is the number one fact,&quot; Zaw Htay, Director-General of the Ministry of the State Counsellor&#39;s Office, told journalists on Tuesday.

A memorandum of understanding on border liaison posts was signed with Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan following talks in the Myanmar capital, Naypyitaw, last week, but there was no progress on reviving the old agreement.

Zaw Htay linked the delay by Bangladesh to the money raised so far by the international community to help build gigantic refugee camps for the Rohingya.

&quot;Currently they have got $400 million. Over their receipt of this amount, we are now afraid of delaying the programme of deporting the refugees,&quot; he said in comments carried in a front-page article in the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper on Wednesday.

&quot;They have got international subsidies. We are now afraid they would have another consideration as to repatriation,&quot; he said.

Bangladesh government issued a statement last Thursday saying that Myanmar had not agreed to 10 points put forward by its minister at last week&#39;s talks, including the full implementation of the recommendations of an Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, chaired by former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, for a sustainable return of Rohingya.

Khan told Bangladesh media last Friday that the two sides were unable to form a joint working group but said it should be set up by the time Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali goes to Myanmar for talks on Nov. 30.

The Myanmar government has said it would accept the Rohingya once it was established that they had lived in Myanmar.

Zaw Htay said Myanmar was awaiting a list of Rohingya refugees from the Bangladesh side.

The United Nation&#39;s new interim resident coordinator for Myanmar began his new job on Wednesday. Knut Ostby, a Norwegian, has taken over the humanitarian and diplomatic role at a time of growing strains with the Myanmar government over the handling of the Rohingya crisis.

Meantime, while Myanmar and Bangladesh work out how Rohingya can eventually go home, the grim exodus from Myanmar continues.

Seven Rohingya, including three babies and two children, drowned trying to make the perilous sea crossing up the coast from Myanmar to Bangladesh earlier this week.

Given the horrors endured by many Rohingya now living in refugee camps it would be unsurprising if they were in no hurry to return to their old homes back in Myanmar.

U.N. investigators interviewing Rohingya living in refugee camps in Bangladesh said on Friday they had gathered testimony pointing to a consistent, methodical pattern&nbsp;of killings, torture, rape and arson.

A foremost concern for Myanmar as it prepares to scrutinise any returnees is the risk of Islamist militants sneaking into the country.

The group behind the Aug. 25 attack on around 30 security posts in Rakhine State was the Arakhan Rohingya Salvation Army, but other militant groups have jumped on the plight of the Rohingya to issue a call to arms.

Last week the media arm of Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) released a video to deliver a message from the group&#39;s leader, Abu Syed al-Ansari Abu Syed al-Ansari, repeating calls for a jihad to fight for the Rohingya.

The Myanmar government has said it would accept the Rohingya once it was established that they had lived in Myanmar.

Myanmar has blamed Bangladesh for delaying the start of a repatriation process for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees, saying it feared Dhaka could be stalling until it receives multi-million dollars of international aid money. More than 600,000 Rohingya have fled predominantly Buddhist Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh since late August to escape ethnic violence that accompanied a brutal military counter-insurgency operation after Rohingya militant attacks on security posts in Myanmar's Rakhine State. Zaw Htay, a spokesman for Myanmar's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, said Myanmar was ready to begin the repatriation process any time, based along the lines of an agreement that covered returns of Rohingya to Myanmar in the early 1990s. He said Bangladesh had yet to accept those terms. "We are ready to start, but the other side did not accept yet, and the process was delayed. This is the number one fact," Zaw Htay, Director-General of the Ministry of the State Counsellor's Office, told journalists on Tuesday. A memorandum of understanding on border liaison posts was signed with Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan following talks in the Myanmar capital, Naypyitaw, last week, but there was no progress on reviving the old agreement. Zaw Htay linked the delay by Bangladesh to the money raised so far by the international community to help build gigantic refugee camps for the Rohingya. "Currently they have got $400 million. Over their receipt of this amount, we are now afraid of delaying the programme of deporting the refugees," he said in comments carried in a front-page article in the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper on Wednesday. "They have got international subsidies. We are now afraid they would have another consideration as to repatriation," he said. Bangladesh government issued a statement last Thursday saying that Myanmar had not agreed to 10 points put forward by its minister at last week's talks, including the full implementation of the recommendations of an Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, chaired by former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, for a sustainable return of Rohingya. Khan told Bangladesh media last Friday that the two sides were unable to form a joint working group but said it should be set up by the time Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali goes to Myanmar for talks on Nov. 30. The Myanmar government has said it would accept the Rohingya once it was established that they had lived in Myanmar. Zaw Htay said Myanmar was awaiting a list of Rohingya refugees from the Bangladesh side. The United Nation's new interim resident coordinator for Myanmar began his new job on Wednesday. Knut Ostby, a Norwegian, has taken over the humanitarian and diplomatic role at a time of growing strains with the Myanmar government over the handling of the Rohingya crisis. Meantime, while Myanmar and Bangladesh work out how Rohingya can eventually go home, the grim exodus from Myanmar continues. Seven Rohingya, including three babies and two children, drowned trying to make the perilous sea crossing up the coast from Myanmar to Bangladesh earlier this week. Given the horrors endured by many Rohingya now living in refugee camps it would be unsurprising if they were in no hurry to return to their old homes back in Myanmar. U.N. investigators interviewing Rohingya living in refugee camps in Bangladesh said on Friday they had gathered testimony pointing to a consistent, methodical pattern of killings, torture, rape and arson. A foremost concern for Myanmar as it prepares to scrutinise any returnees is the risk of Islamist militants sneaking into the country. The group behind the Aug. 25 attack on around 30 security posts in Rakhine State was the Arakhan Rohingya Salvation Army, but other militant groups have jumped on the plight of the Rohingya to issue a call to arms. Last week the media arm of Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) released a video to deliver a message from the group's leader, Abu Syed al-Ansari Abu Syed al-Ansari, repeating calls for a jihad to fight for the Rohingya.

Myanmar blames Bangladesh for failing to repatriate Rohingyas

Bianca &ldquo;Bam Bam&rdquo; Elmir is dressed in a sky blue shirt, squished on a Skype screen on an early morning in Melbourne. Although she is half a world away, her energy is evident even through a screen. Next to her is Jemma van Loenen, the producer of Bam Bam, the documentary.

We establish her history immediately: &ldquo;I come from a Lebanese background, my grandparents migrated in the &lsquo;50s to Australia. I was raised in Canberra, where I&rsquo;m based, by a single parent, my mom, who divorced my dad when I was very young. I was 2.&rdquo;

Shifting slightly, she adds, &ldquo;I met my dad at 27 properly; we&rsquo;ve had a very loose relationship since then. My mom, on the other hand, has raised me on her own.&rdquo;

It is not the first time in our conversation that I am surprised by Bianca&rsquo;s candor. She is direct, open, occasionally pushing back her curly hair and shifting as she speaks. The Australian boxer is evident even when she is seated not just in her body, but in the way she moves occasionally, unable to sit totally still.

Spiritual moments in the ring

The tagline to Bam Bam the movie is &ldquo;Boxer. Woman. Muslim.&rdquo; I ask Bianca about the Muslim part, first, curious as to how she defines herself in this regard.

&ldquo;My mother, she didn&rsquo;t really have a strong connection to the faith growing up &hellip; she didn&rsquo;t wear the scarf and she didn&rsquo;t pray,&rdquo; Bianca replies. &ldquo;She&rsquo;s becoming more devoted as she&rsquo;s grown older. At 13 or 14, my attachment to Islam was the strongest in my life. It cemented my identity.&rdquo;

She pauses and then continues: &ldquo;Since then, I&rsquo;ve changed, and the religion has changed with me. I still consider myself a strong believer. I feel like my faith is at the center of who I am and everything I do. Boxing, for me, is something very close to my heart because it&rsquo;s raw.&rdquo;

Bianca&rsquo;s unexpected shift toward discussing boxing in the midst of discussing Islam throws me slightly, but she finishes her thought with an eloquence that I&rsquo;m beginning to see is an indisputable part of her.

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very close to my emotions: being a fighter and sticking up for what you believe in and believing in yourself and have the most acute focus and focus to detail. I feel like my faith enhances those elements in me. Islam is about sticking up for what you believe in and fighting for a cause and believing so deeply in something and committing to it. I think [boxing] runs parallel to that. It&rsquo;s a very spiritual moment in the ring.&rdquo;

When she says this, I immediately think of the traditions of Muay Thai, or Thai Boxing. In a traditional Thai fight, a number of ceremonial rituals, including the Wai Khru Ram Muay dance and the wearing of mongkol (or mongkon) headdress, form an enormously important part of every fight.

Bianca, who has a background in mixed martial arts, confirms my thought when she continues: &ldquo;When I come in and out of the ring&mdash;we get these traditions from the Thais, the blessings coming in and out&mdash;I thank God. I don&rsquo;t necessarily thank the spirits, but I thank God, always, for my opportunity in the ring, whether it&rsquo;s training or fighting. In the moments of despair when I&rsquo;m at my wit&rsquo;s end and I&rsquo;ve got someone trying to take my head off in front of me, I have a second of self-doubt and that&rsquo;s when I turn and restate to myself that myself that I believe in God and myself and this opportunity and this moment.&rdquo;

&ldquo;My religion gives me a lot of inspiration,&rdquo; she finishes, simply.

I wonder if Bianca&rsquo;s experience of religion is reflective of a very private negotiation of her Muslim identity, without the input of a larger Muslim community.

&ldquo;In a way, yes, I look at other young people &hellip; it&rsquo;s a confusing time in that you&rsquo;re trying to figure out your identity, how you fit into the particular community you&rsquo;re a part of, and if you&rsquo;re a part of a diaspora that doesn&rsquo;t have a lot of momentum, you feel like you have to shout a bit louder. With the religion, I felt on the periphery&mdash;living in Canberra, it&rsquo;s a very middle-class, white suburban city, I always felt a little bit on the outside&mdash;anyway, even though it&rsquo;s a very inclusive space, I felt like I had to stand up from when I was very young.&rdquo;

The idea of growing up surrounded by a different, dominant narrative is so similar to my own childhood. I tell Bianca that I went through the same process of identity negotiation and she nods, continuing: &ldquo;Having the religion as a label, being Muslim at the time, gave me comfort and gave me that pathway, especially being quite a young person, I was searching for that. Kind of similar to you, I didn&rsquo;t need to shout as loud about needing to verify who I was. I was more comfortable having nuances about being a girl, a Muslim, someone from an ethnic background.&rdquo;

She pauses, laughing: &ldquo;So, having all those different narratives, I&rsquo;m still nostalgic about those days because things were so clear and I was confident about how things were right or wrong. Understanding what is evil and what is not evil. I feel like I&rsquo;ve got a more progressive understanding of the religion, now. Community work, care for the people around me, care for the people that were ill&mdash;[Islam] instilled that in me and I still hold on to that, treat people with respect, if someone is poor, look after them. You have to help people in need. Those are the things that have stuck with me.&rdquo;

Identity and femininity

When she pauses, she and Jemma both look at me expectantly and I sheepishly admit that, from the trailers for Bam Bam, Bianca comes off as far more aggressive and defiant than she does in person, where she is immensely articulate and thoughtful.

Bianca laughs: &ldquo;I feel like I&rsquo;ve become quite masculine. My particular gym is only boys, so I&rsquo;ve had to take on a persona which is a little, you know, thick-skinned. Can take anything, can take all kinds of comments, can take any guy they put in front of me, so I think I&rsquo;ve developed that quite well over time, out of survival. My coach has a lot of confidence in me but then will also put me in front of anything.&rdquo;

She shifts a little, still grinning: &ldquo;I think at times, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m getting my head pummeled in and I don&rsquo;t know what&rsquo;s going on.&rsquo; Through self-preservation, I&rsquo;ve had to take on this persona of toughness and true grit, bite down on my mouth guard and get through everything.&rdquo;

Jemma, looking a little startled, adds: &ldquo;That&rsquo;s interesting, I didn&rsquo;t realise that was coming across. I wanted to create some kind of in that, there&rsquo;s a goal she&rsquo;s trying to achieve and there have been obstacles to overcome, like the ban &hellip; but also to balance that with what gets Bianca through.&rdquo;

She adds: &ldquo;I did have a little snippet that I wanted to put in there, there&rsquo;s a snippet of you rubbing your face and you say you like having your face patted, to balance this full-on an aggressive thing where people are punching you in the face. You have that need to be nurtured.&rdquo;

Bianca smiles playfully and says, to me this time, &ldquo;I just want to be hugged.&rdquo;

&ldquo;Being in a highly sexualised environment,&rdquo; she continues, pausing briefly to become more serious again, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to come across as too cute and too much of a princess. Maybe I&rsquo;ve gone too far the other way. I&rsquo;ve found at times I need to re-center and ground myself; I find myself losing a bit of my identity and femininity, which I really embrace and love about myself. The paradox is really difficult.&rdquo;

Many female fighters and athletes, including Serena Williams and Ronda Rousey, contend that being &ldquo;feminine&rdquo; and an &ldquo;athlete&rdquo; are not mutually exclusive. While Bianca seems to agree with this, she also contends that the traits of aggression and dominance visible in boxing are male traits that she must take on in order to survive. In a way, she must &ldquo;fight like a man&rdquo; while still finding ways to express her femininity.

&ldquo;Feminine, to me, is maybe having a more nurturing, a more humble side, a caring side. Feminine is being more considerate&mdash;I see it as all of those things. I don&rsquo;t express those things in the ring; otherwise, I&rsquo;d get my head punched in. So then I express my femininity through dancing&mdash;I&rsquo;m always dancing around in the gym. It&rsquo;s quite sexualised dancing, sometimes, but it&rsquo;s the one space I know no one can take from me, where I can be chill and be a girl, I can feel my body and I can dance.&rdquo;

She pauses and looks at Jemma, thinking, and Jemma adds: &ldquo;It hasn&rsquo;t necessarily come through yet in the trailers, but it&rsquo;s definitely something we&rsquo;ve talked about and we&rsquo;re interested in.&rdquo;

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s almost like this alter ego has become me,&rdquo; Bianca says, smiling again. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got this persona and I&rsquo;m so mindful. I don&rsquo;t even let men go through that. It&rsquo;s fascinating looking at the person I was a few years ago to what I am now. I would walk into an office as a political advisor with beautiful skirts and high heels and jewellery and I was the face of the office.&rdquo;

I can&rsquo;t help but think that Bianca&rsquo;s blunt admission that yes, she does have to take on what she defines as masculine characteristics is almost more honest than most negotiations about gender.

&ldquo;All those things are amplified in the sporting world. I have to hold my own, and if I&rsquo;m emotionally fragile or I&rsquo;ve had a bad day and I want to cry, yell or scream, I have to hold out on my own. My coach isn&rsquo;t going to hold on to those things. I&rsquo;ve chosen a sport that really amplifies it&rdquo;.

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a very fine line,&rdquo; she continues, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to dumb myself down or make myself ugly just in case you find me sexually attractive&mdash;you have to own that and you have to be responsible. But don&rsquo;t cross my boundaries. If you want to admire me, that&rsquo;s fine as well, but first and foremost I&rsquo;m an athlete and I want to be respected for that. Honestly, if there was a whole heap of other girls at the gym, I might find that threatening. There was a girl that came once and she had a bit of a sulk about the weight we were working with and I blanked her.&rdquo;

She finally, in the interview, shows the aggression that is so evident in the movie trailer: &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t put me in your &lsquo;please help me circle.&rsquo; I worked hard for this. I&rsquo;m going to lift this weight and I can do it. I had to spar her, I sparred hard, and she never came back.&rdquo;

When Bianca sits back a little, pausing, Jemma adds that they have been trying to explore the ideas of aggression and the labels imposed by society.

Bianca leans back in and says, &ldquo;The debate is so interesting, anyway: to be feminine, and through Islam on top of that, where feminine is such an external experience, it&rsquo;s understood to be external. Femininity is something very personalised and it&rsquo;s centered in the private sphere and celebrated amongst women.&rdquo;

She continues thoughtfully: &ldquo;But I&rsquo;m living in a Western country. I never really felt like I needed to wear a short skirt. I felt like I went the other way, I felt like one of the boys, so I got the label &lsquo;tomboy&rsquo; which I find so derogative. I hate the word. I box in a skirt just because, because girls will try to show that they&rsquo;re just as good as the guys and wear the same thing as the guys, but that&rsquo;s why I wear a skirt, it looks good on me and is different.&rdquo;

Fight or flight

There is no question that Bianca is a bundle of contradictions: articulate, aggressive, spiritual, sexual. Yet this is perhaps the most intriguing part of her: the constant, ongoing negotiation of her identities. While other women attempt to straddle precariously, Bianca is defiantly who she is with very few apologies.

&ldquo;I moved out when I was 21,&rdquo; she explains. &ldquo;I was ostracised, I was on my own, travelled on my own, lived on my own, got myself through university. That was hard. I was young and I really had no one else. I had no family at all, so whilst I can sit here and say, very confidently, yes, this is who I am and say that this has been a hard road.&rdquo;

When I ask her who she is, she replies, &ldquo;The fighter narrative. Fight or flight. I fought back for myself, for what I wanted to do, for the person I want to become. I could quite easily still be living at my mom&rsquo;s house, gotten married, become the person she wanted me to be, put on a headscarf and been done with it. I didn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;

As we begin wrapping up our conversation because Bianca must prepare for a flight, I am particularly interested in her feeling that she negates some of her femininity and sometimes, in her own words, uses it to &ldquo;manipulate men.&rdquo;

&ldquo;I feel like I can get it over any guy, it&rsquo;s really interesting because I express it when we have these big kickboxing events,&rdquo; she says, smiling again with an ever-present charm. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s when I get the chance to dress up, that&rsquo;s really when I can cement my femininity, the juxtaposition of who I am. I love the shock element and I find people treating me totally different. I&rsquo;m the sexy girl, I like playing that role.&rdquo;

&ldquo;I know that deep down,&rdquo; she says, pausing ruefully, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m still a woman. I feel like I have these sides of me where I do want to care for people and treat them kindly. With men, in particular, I feel like I need to conquer them. That might have something to do with it. Maybe it&rsquo;s my daddy issues, I probably do have daddy issues.&rdquo;

She chuckles again, grinning at Jemma and myself: &ldquo;At least I&rsquo;m self-aware! I&rsquo;m lucky I&rsquo;ve had that self-reflective part of me for a very long time. I&rsquo;ve been analytical in writing diaries and I&rsquo;ve always had someone to confide in. Being open and adaptable to change, I feel like I&rsquo;m open to what life presents.&rdquo;

Even first thing in the morning, this woman&rsquo;s charisma is evident. Jemma, the producer, has been a quiet presence throughout the interview, but it is Bianca who has taken center stage without much effort.

&quot;You are worthy&quot;

As Bianca gets up with a cheery wave to begin preparing for her flight, I ask Jemma why she chose Bianca as a documentary subject.

&ldquo;I want to give a different angle,&rdquo; Jemma responds, &ldquo;from what is out there on Australian TV and cinemas, something that is a little-left field, and I guess connect it with that sort of people about following a dream. The plotline for Bianca is to be a world champion - to be the best at something, everyone has that dream in some form or another, in whatever career or vocation that&rsquo;s in, but it&rsquo;s too easy for us to lose that. It&rsquo;s easy to doubt and fear and to give in to those things.&rdquo;

We say goodbye and end the call, but in the silence afterwards, it is Bianca&rsquo;s final thoughts on what to say to other young Muslim girls that resonate with me.

&ldquo;My message is that throughout your journey, which you need to define yourself, there will be moments of anxiety, fear and doubt, and all of those things are okay and they&rsquo;re a part of the journey,&rdquo; she says.

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really important in withstanding those emotions that you cultivate self-belief and that way that you can do that is just by working really hard, looking at yourself in the mirror now and then, revisiting your own eyes, and looking deep into those eyes and telling yourself you are worthy.&rdquo;

Photo Credit: Lollapalooza Films

This&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fairobserver.com/region/asia_pacific/muslim-woman-fights-like-man-34953/" rel="nofollow" target="blank">article</a>&nbsp;has been originally published in Fair Observer.

Australian amateur boxer Bianca ?Bam Bam? Elmir talks about her journey of life

Bianca “Bam Bam” Elmir is dressed in a sky blue shirt, squished on a Skype screen on an early morning in Melbourne. Although she is half a world away, her energy is evident even through a screen. Next to her is Jemma van Loenen, the producer of Bam Bam, the documentary. We establish her history immediately: “I come from a Lebanese background, my grandparents migrated in the ‘50s to Australia. I was raised in Canberra, where I’m based, by a single parent, my mom, who divorced my dad when I was very young. I was 2.” Shifting slightly, she adds, “I met my dad at 27 properly; we’ve had a very loose relationship since then. My mom, on the other hand, has raised me on her own.” It is not the first time in our conversation that I am surprised by Bianca’s candor. She is direct, open, occasionally pushing back her curly hair and shifting as she speaks. The Australian boxer is evident even when she is seated not just in her body, but in the way she moves occasionally, unable to sit totally still. Spiritual moments in the ring The tagline to Bam Bam the movie is “Boxer. Woman. Muslim.” I ask Bianca about the Muslim part, first, curious as to how she defines herself in this regard. “My mother, she didn’t really have a strong connection to the faith growing up … she didn’t wear the scarf and she didn’t pray,” Bianca replies. “She’s becoming more devoted as she’s grown older. At 13 or 14, my attachment to Islam was the strongest in my life. It cemented my identity.” She pauses and then continues: “Since then, I’ve changed, and the religion has changed with me. I still consider myself a strong believer. I feel like my faith is at the center of who I am and everything I do. Boxing, for me, is something very close to my heart because it’s raw.” Bianca’s unexpected shift toward discussing boxing in the midst of discussing Islam throws me slightly, but she finishes her thought with an eloquence that I’m beginning to see is an indisputable part of her. “It’s very close to my emotions: being a fighter and sticking up for what you believe in and believing in yourself and have the most acute focus and focus to detail. I feel like my faith enhances those elements in me. Islam is about sticking up for what you believe in and fighting for a cause and believing so deeply in something and committing to it. I think [boxing] runs parallel to that. It’s a very spiritual moment in the ring.” When she says this, I immediately think of the traditions of Muay Thai, or Thai Boxing. In a traditional Thai fight, a number of ceremonial rituals, including the Wai Khru Ram Muay dance and the wearing of mongkol (or mongkon) headdress, form an enormously important part of every fight. Bianca, who has a background in mixed martial arts, confirms my thought when she continues: “When I come in and out of the ring—we get these traditions from the Thais, the blessings coming in and out—I thank God. I don’t necessarily thank the spirits, but I thank God, always, for my opportunity in the ring, whether it’s training or fighting. In the moments of despair when I’m at my wit’s end and I’ve got someone trying to take my head off in front of me, I have a second of self-doubt and that’s when I turn and restate to myself that myself that I believe in God and myself and this opportunity and this moment.” “My religion gives me a lot of inspiration,” she finishes, simply. I wonder if Bianca’s experience of religion is reflective of a very private negotiation of her Muslim identity, without the input of a larger Muslim community. “In a way, yes, I look at other young people … it’s a confusing time in that you’re trying to figure out your identity, how you fit into the particular community you’re a part of, and if you’re a part of a diaspora that doesn’t have a lot of momentum, you feel like you have to shout a bit louder. With the religion, I felt on the periphery—living in Canberra, it’s a very middle-class, white suburban city, I always felt a little bit on the outside—anyway, even though it’s a very inclusive space, I felt like I had to stand up from when I was very young.” The idea of growing up surrounded by a different, dominant narrative is so similar to my own childhood. I tell Bianca that I went through the same process of identity negotiation and she nods, continuing: “Having the religion as a label, being Muslim at the time, gave me comfort and gave me that pathway, especially being quite a young person, I was searching for that. Kind of similar to you, I didn’t need to shout as loud about needing to verify who I was. I was more comfortable having nuances about being a girl, a Muslim, someone from an ethnic background.” She pauses, laughing: “So, having all those different narratives, I’m still nostalgic about those days because things were so clear and I was confident about how things were right or wrong. Understanding what is evil and what is not evil. I feel like I’ve got a more progressive understanding of the religion, now. Community work, care for the people around me, care for the people that were ill—[Islam] instilled that in me and I still hold on to that, treat people with respect, if someone is poor, look after them. You have to help people in need. Those are the things that have stuck with me.” Identity and femininity When she pauses, she and Jemma both look at me expectantly and I sheepishly admit that, from the trailers for Bam Bam, Bianca comes off as far more aggressive and defiant than she does in person, where she is immensely articulate and thoughtful. Bianca laughs: “I feel like I’ve become quite masculine. My particular gym is only boys, so I’ve had to take on a persona which is a little, you know, thick-skinned. Can take anything, can take all kinds of comments, can take any guy they put in front of me, so I think I’ve developed that quite well over time, out of survival. My coach has a lot of confidence in me but then will also put me in front of anything.” She shifts a little, still grinning: “I think at times, ‘I’m getting my head pummeled in and I don’t know what’s going on.’ Through self-preservation, I’ve had to take on this persona of toughness and true grit, bite down on my mouth guard and get through everything.” Jemma, looking a little startled, adds: “That’s interesting, I didn’t realise that was coming across. I wanted to create some kind of in that, there’s a goal she’s trying to achieve and there have been obstacles to overcome, like the ban … but also to balance that with what gets Bianca through.” She adds: “I did have a little snippet that I wanted to put in there, there’s a snippet of you rubbing your face and you say you like having your face patted, to balance this full-on an aggressive thing where people are punching you in the face. You have that need to be nurtured.” Bianca smiles playfully and says, to me this time, “I just want to be hugged.” “Being in a highly sexualised environment,” she continues, pausing briefly to become more serious again, “I don’t want to come across as too cute and too much of a princess. Maybe I’ve gone too far the other way. I’ve found at times I need to re-center and ground myself; I find myself losing a bit of my identity and femininity, which I really embrace and love about myself. The paradox is really difficult.” Many female fighters and athletes, including Serena Williams and Ronda Rousey, contend that being “feminine” and an “athlete” are not mutually exclusive. While Bianca seems to agree with this, she also contends that the traits of aggression and dominance visible in boxing are male traits that she must take on in order to survive. In a way, she must “fight like a man” while still finding ways to express her femininity. “Feminine, to me, is maybe having a more nurturing, a more humble side, a caring side. Feminine is being more considerate—I see it as all of those things. I don’t express those things in the ring; otherwise, I’d get my head punched in. So then I express my femininity through dancing—I’m always dancing around in the gym. It’s quite sexualised dancing, sometimes, but it’s the one space I know no one can take from me, where I can be chill and be a girl, I can feel my body and I can dance.” She pauses and looks at Jemma, thinking, and Jemma adds: “It hasn’t necessarily come through yet in the trailers, but it’s definitely something we’ve talked about and we’re interested in.” “It’s almost like this alter ego has become me,” Bianca says, smiling again. “I’ve got this persona and I’m so mindful. I don’t even let men go through that. It’s fascinating looking at the person I was a few years ago to what I am now. I would walk into an office as a political advisor with beautiful skirts and high heels and jewellery and I was the face of the office.” I can’t help but think that Bianca’s blunt admission that yes, she does have to take on what she defines as masculine characteristics is almost more honest than most negotiations about gender. “All those things are amplified in the sporting world. I have to hold my own, and if I’m emotionally fragile or I’ve had a bad day and I want to cry, yell or scream, I have to hold out on my own. My coach isn’t going to hold on to those things. I’ve chosen a sport that really amplifies it”. “It’s a very fine line,” she continues, “I’m not going to dumb myself down or make myself ugly just in case you find me sexually attractive—you have to own that and you have to be responsible. But don’t cross my boundaries. If you want to admire me, that’s fine as well, but first and foremost I’m an athlete and I want to be respected for that. Honestly, if there was a whole heap of other girls at the gym, I might find that threatening. There was a girl that came once and she had a bit of a sulk about the weight we were working with and I blanked her.” She finally, in the interview, shows the aggression that is so evident in the movie trailer: “Don’t put me in your ‘please help me circle.’ I worked hard for this. I’m going to lift this weight and I can do it. I had to spar her, I sparred hard, and she never came back.” When Bianca sits back a little, pausing, Jemma adds that they have been trying to explore the ideas of aggression and the labels imposed by society. Bianca leans back in and says, “The debate is so interesting, anyway: to be feminine, and through Islam on top of that, where feminine is such an external experience, it’s understood to be external. Femininity is something very personalised and it’s centered in the private sphere and celebrated amongst women.” She continues thoughtfully: “But I’m living in a Western country. I never really felt like I needed to wear a short skirt. I felt like I went the other way, I felt like one of the boys, so I got the label ‘tomboy’ which I find so derogative. I hate the word. I box in a skirt just because, because girls will try to show that they’re just as good as the guys and wear the same thing as the guys, but that’s why I wear a skirt, it looks good on me and is different.” Fight or flight There is no question that Bianca is a bundle of contradictions: articulate, aggressive, spiritual, sexual. Yet this is perhaps the most intriguing part of her: the constant, ongoing negotiation of her identities. While other women attempt to straddle precariously, Bianca is defiantly who she is with very few apologies. “I moved out when I was 21,” she explains. “I was ostracised, I was on my own, travelled on my own, lived on my own, got myself through university. That was hard. I was young and I really had no one else. I had no family at all, so whilst I can sit here and say, very confidently, yes, this is who I am and say that this has been a hard road.” When I ask her who she is, she replies, “The fighter narrative. Fight or flight. I fought back for myself, for what I wanted to do, for the person I want to become. I could quite easily still be living at my mom’s house, gotten married, become the person she wanted me to be, put on a headscarf and been done with it. I didn’t.” As we begin wrapping up our conversation because Bianca must prepare for a flight, I am particularly interested in her feeling that she negates some of her femininity and sometimes, in her own words, uses it to “manipulate men.” “I feel like I can get it over any guy, it’s really interesting because I express it when we have these big kickboxing events,” she says, smiling again with an ever-present charm. “It’s when I get the chance to dress up, that’s really when I can cement my femininity, the juxtaposition of who I am. I love the shock element and I find people treating me totally different. I’m the sexy girl, I like playing that role.” “I know that deep down,” she says, pausing ruefully, “I’m still a woman. I feel like I have these sides of me where I do want to care for people and treat them kindly. With men, in particular, I feel like I need to conquer them. That might have something to do with it. Maybe it’s my daddy issues, I probably do have daddy issues.” She chuckles again, grinning at Jemma and myself: “At least I’m self-aware! I’m lucky I’ve had that self-reflective part of me for a very long time. I’ve been analytical in writing diaries and I’ve always had someone to confide in. Being open and adaptable to change, I feel like I’m open to what life presents.” Even first thing in the morning, this woman’s charisma is evident. Jemma, the producer, has been a quiet presence throughout the interview, but it is Bianca who has taken center stage without much effort. "You are worthy" As Bianca gets up with a cheery wave to begin preparing for her flight, I ask Jemma why she chose Bianca as a documentary subject. “I want to give a different angle,” Jemma responds, “from what is out there on Australian TV and cinemas, something that is a little-left field, and I guess connect it with that sort of people about following a dream. The plotline for Bianca is to be a world champion - to be the best at something, everyone has that dream in some form or another, in whatever career or vocation that’s in, but it’s too easy for us to lose that. It’s easy to doubt and fear and to give in to those things.” We say goodbye and end the call, but in the silence afterwards, it is Bianca’s final thoughts on what to say to other young Muslim girls that resonate with me. “My message is that throughout your journey, which you need to define yourself, there will be moments of anxiety, fear and doubt, and all of those things are okay and they’re a part of the journey,” she says. “It’s really important in withstanding those emotions that you cultivate self-belief and that way that you can do that is just by working really hard, looking at yourself in the mirror now and then, revisiting your own eyes, and looking deep into those eyes and telling yourself you are worthy.” Photo Credit: Lollapalooza Films This article has been originally published in Fair Observer.

The Muslim woman who fights like a man

At least 200 Muslims have fled their village in Rajasthan after a Hindu priest and his friends were alleged to have killed a Muslim folk singer late last month, police said on Wednesday.

Trouble erupted in Dantal village near the&nbsp;India-Pakistan border on Sept. 27, when a Hindu priest accused folk singer Ahmad Khan of making mistakes while reciting hymns to evoke a Hindu goddess.

Khan, 45, was a member of the Langa Manganiyar community that has been singing Hindu religious songs and spiritual verses in temples and at festivals for generations. The priest suggested changes to the hymn, leading to an argument.

Police said the priest, Ramesh Suthar, and his friends then broke Khan&#39;s musical instruments and killed him.

&quot;The news of the murder triggered unrest between Hindus and Muslims who have been living together for generations,&quot; said Gaurav Yadav, a senior police officer investigating the case.

He did not say how Khan was killed but said Suthar had been arrested. The priest&#39;s accomplices had fled, Yadav said.

Two of Suthar&#39;s family members said he was in shock and refused to talk about the case.

Government authorities had sent paramilitary forces to the area but the Muslims, fearing clashes, refused to return home.

&quot;For one small mistake the Hindus killed my brother,&quot; said Rakha Khan, the dead singer&#39;s cousin. &quot;We can&#39;t live in the same village ever again.&quot;

Rakha Khan said they had sought refuge in a school and that the state government officials and other local authorities were providing them with food.

The attack is the latest in a series of incidents targeting the minority Muslim community in states ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s Hindu nationalist party.

Since his Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014, hardline Hindu groups and cow protection vigilantes have carried out numerous attacks on Muslims accused of eating beef or killing cows. Many Hindus believe cows are sacred and killing them is banned in some states.

Trouble erupted in Dantal village when a Hindu priest accused folk singer Ahmad Khan of making mistakes while reciting hymns to evoke a Hindu goddess

At least 200 Muslims have fled their village in Rajasthan after a Hindu priest and his friends were alleged to have killed a Muslim folk singer late last month, police said on Wednesday. Trouble erupted in Dantal village near the India-Pakistan border on Sept. 27, when a Hindu priest accused folk singer Ahmad Khan of making mistakes while reciting hymns to evoke a Hindu goddess. Khan, 45, was a member of the Langa Manganiyar community that has been singing Hindu religious songs and spiritual verses in temples and at festivals for generations. The priest suggested changes to the hymn, leading to an argument. Police said the priest, Ramesh Suthar, and his friends then broke Khan's musical instruments and killed him. "The news of the murder triggered unrest between Hindus and Muslims who have been living together for generations," said Gaurav Yadav, a senior police officer investigating the case. He did not say how Khan was killed but said Suthar had been arrested. The priest's accomplices had fled, Yadav said. Two of Suthar's family members said he was in shock and refused to talk about the case. Government authorities had sent paramilitary forces to the area but the Muslims, fearing clashes, refused to return home. "For one small mistake the Hindus killed my brother," said Rakha Khan, the dead singer's cousin. "We can't live in the same village ever again." Rakha Khan said they had sought refuge in a school and that the state government officials and other local authorities were providing them with food. The attack is the latest in a series of incidents targeting the minority Muslim community in states ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party. Since his Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014, hardline Hindu groups and cow protection vigilantes have carried out numerous attacks on Muslims accused of eating beef or killing cows. Many Hindus believe cows are sacred and killing them is banned in some states.

Muslims flee Rajasthan village after singer killed in argument with Hindu priest: Police

Chetan Bhagat and immaculate English don&rsquo;t usually go in the same sentence, but a grammatical error made by the&nbsp;popular pulp fiction writer had the&nbsp;Twitterati&nbsp;trolling him. Bhagat had tweeted out a comment on&nbsp;Washington Post&#39;s article on the iconic Taj Mahal being not included in the Uttar Pradesh Tourism booklet.&nbsp;

Bhagat posted a poll with a tweet which basically posed the question if Indians saw Taj Mahal as a&nbsp;Muslim monument: &quot;Did you ever, as an Indian, saw the Taj as a &#39;Muslim&#39; monument (as @washingtonpost&nbsp;is saying it&#39;s being neglected because it is Muslim).&quot; Last checked, 84 per cent of those responding said they saw Taj as an Indian monument, while another 16 per cent felt it was a Muslim one.&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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Did you ever, as an Indian, saw the Taj as a &#39;Muslim&#39; monument (as <a href="https://twitter.com/washingtonpost?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@washingtonpost is saying it&#39;s being neglected because it is Muslim)</a>

&nbsp;
<a href="https://twitter.com/washingtonpost?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">&mdash; Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) </a><a href="https://twitter.com/chetan_bhagat/status/915429847408590848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2017</a></blockquote>
<a href="https://twitter.com/chetan_bhagat/status/915429847408590848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">&nbsp; <script?async?src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>&nbsp;</a></div>
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However, some tweeters decided to latch on to the&nbsp;&#39;grammatically&nbsp;incorrect English&#39; in the&nbsp;Tweet by Bhagat who has often defended his English&nbsp;as simple and easy to understand&nbsp;even for those not educated in the language.&nbsp;

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As an Indian once wanted to Saw the Taj but they didn&rsquo;t let me enter with a Saw and said u can only see the Taj, not saw it <a href="https://t.co/TkS20ixwaX">https://t.co/TkS20ixwaX</a>

&nbsp;
<a href="https://t.co/TkS20ixwaX">&mdash; Joy (@Joydas) </a><a href="https://twitter.com/Joydas/status/915534349486796801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2017</a></blockquote>
<a href="https://twitter.com/Joydas/status/915534349486796801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">&nbsp; <script?async?src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>&nbsp; </a></div>
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Some even put up mock polls in response to Bhagat&#39;s poll on the&nbsp;Indian-ness&nbsp;of Taj.&nbsp;

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How do you see Chetan Bhagat

&nbsp;
&mdash; Pun of God (@Punofgod) <a href="https://twitter.com/Punofgod/status/915514243180527616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2017</a></blockquote>
<a href="https://twitter.com/Punofgod/status/915514243180527616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">&nbsp; <script?async?src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>&nbsp;</a></div>
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The former investment banker turned &quot;dramedy&nbsp;writer&quot;, as Wikipedia describes him, has also tried his hand at Bollywood script writing and has written &#39;Kai Poche&#39;&nbsp;and &#39;Two States&#39;, both Hindi films based on his books.

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For a guy who claims to be a writer in English, that&#39;s some really bad grammar!
&mdash; ?SoM? (@crazy4fawad) <a href="https://twitter.com/crazy4fawad/status/915460631385559040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Bhagat even&nbsp;apologised&nbsp;for the error which he said was because of the &quot;auto-correct&quot; feature on his phone, but some even suggested he read Wren &amp; Martin, the English&nbsp;grammar book&nbsp;most school-going children in India read.

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Yes I apologise for the phone autocorrect typo. Though I think everyone did get the point. Oh, btw it is Come On! Not Common! <a href="https://t.co/3aWSIAzMsi">https://t.co/3aWSIAzMsi</a>
&mdash; Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) <a href="https://twitter.com/chetan_bhagat/status/916212855212408832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
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&nbsp;

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Did you ever, as an Indian, saw the Taj as a &#39;Muslim&#39; monument (as <a href="https://twitter.com/washingtonpost?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@washingtonpost</a> is saying it&#39;s being neglected because it is Muslim)
&mdash; Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) <a href="https://twitter.com/chetan_bhagat/status/915429847408590848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
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so If Trump says or feels something we can say America says or feels the same? <a href="https://t.co/8FHeeKBqWQ">https://t.co/8FHeeKBqWQ</a>
&mdash; Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) <a href="https://twitter.com/chetan_bhagat/status/915524686439620608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2017</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

Bhagat had tweeted his comment in response to the Washington Post article asking 'Is India neglecting the Taj because it was built by Muslims?'

Chetan Bhagat and immaculate English don’t usually go in the same sentence, but a grammatical error made by the popular pulp fiction writer had the Twitterati trolling him. Bhagat had tweeted out a comment on Washington Post's article on the iconic Taj Mahal being not included in the Uttar Pradesh Tourism booklet. Bhagat posted a poll with a tweet which basically posed the question if Indians saw Taj Mahal as a Muslim monument: "Did you ever, as an Indian, saw the Taj as a 'Muslim' monument (as @washingtonpost is saying it's being neglected because it is Muslim)." Last checked, 84 per cent of those responding said they saw Taj as an Indian monument, while another 16 per cent felt it was a Muslim one. Did you ever, as an Indian, saw the Taj as a 'Muslim' monument (as @washingtonpost is saying it's being neglected because it is Muslim) — Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) October 4, 2017 × However, some tweeters decided to latch on to the 'grammatically incorrect English' in the Tweet by Bhagat who has often defended his English as simple and easy to understand even for those not educated in the language. As an Indian once wanted to Saw the Taj but they didn’t let me enter with a Saw and said u can only see the Taj, not saw it https://t.co/TkS20ixwaX — Joy (@Joydas) October 4, 2017 × Some even put up mock polls in response to Bhagat's poll on the Indian-ness of Taj. How do you see Chetan Bhagat — Pun of God (@Punofgod) October 4, 2017 × The former investment banker turned "dramedy writer", as Wikipedia describes him, has also tried his hand at Bollywood script writing and has written 'Kai Poche' and 'Two States', both Hindi films based on his books. For a guy who claims to be a writer in English, that's some really bad grammar! — ?SoM? (@crazy4fawad) October 4, 2017 × Bhagat even apologised for the error which he said was because of the "auto-correct" feature on his phone, but some even suggested he read Wren & Martin, the English grammar book most school-going children in India read. Yes I apologise for the phone autocorrect typo. Though I think everyone did get the point. Oh, btw it is Come On! Not Common! https://t.co/3aWSIAzMsi — Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) October 6, 2017 × Did you ever, as an Indian, saw the Taj as a 'Muslim' monument (as @washingtonpost is saying it's being neglected because it is Muslim) — Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) October 4, 2017 × so If Trump says or feels something we can say America says or feels the same? https://t.co/8FHeeKBqWQ — Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) October 4, 2017 ×

Chetan Bhagat tweets 'did you saw the Taj...', Twitter replies 'really bad grammar'

Myanmar is poised to begin &quot;verifying&quot; how many of the near half a million Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh it will take back, the Ministry of Information said on Thursday, naming land and sea points in restive Rakhine state for their return.

Some 480,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Rakhine to Bangladesh since August 25, when militant attacks on sparked an army campaign that the UN says was tantamount to &quot;ethnic cleansing&quot;.

The new arrivals are living in increasingly desperate conditions in over-crowded rain-battered camps, reliant on a trickle of aid.

Bangladesh, which already hosted hundreds of thousands of Rohingya before the latest crisis, has led the global chorus calling on Myanmar to take back the Rohingya and guarantee their safety.

But it is unclear how many Rohingya, who numbered around one million in Myanmar before August 25, will be eligible for return to a country that does not recognise them as citizens.

Many others are unwilling to move back to charred villages and communities cut by communal hate in Rakhine.

Last week Myanmar&#39;s leader Aung San Suu Kyi said her country will repatriate those who meet a strict criteria set between the two countries in 1993, when tens of thousands of Rohingya were repatriated having fled Myanmar authorities.

Verification will be carried out &quot;soon&quot; on Myanmar soil at two border points, the Ministry of Information said in a Facebook statement.

They will be checked at &quot;Taungpyo Latwe village for those who return by road and at Naguya Village for those who return by water,&quot; it said, quoting Win Myat Aye, Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement.

&quot;After the verification process, the refugees will be settled at Dargyizar village,&quot; he was quoted as saying.

Dargyizar village is in an area of Maungdaw hit hard by the recent communal violence, that saw hundreds killed and gutted countless Rohingya villages.

The minority do not qualify for Myanmar citizenship despite many tracing back their family history in Rakhine for generations.

The army insists they are not an ethnic group, but instead &quot;Bengalis&quot; -- or interlopers from across the border -- and therefore needed to be carefully counted back in.

The Muslim group were stripped of citizenship by a junta-scripted law in 1982 and have been corralled ever since by a combination of legal controls and violence.&nbsp;

Rights groups say the Myanmar government verification&nbsp;process will fall flat as many Rohingya will snub it, while others have lost the required documents in fires and flight.

Many Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are now refusing to register with authorities there as repatriation talk grows louder, saying their identity as an ethnic group is not recognised on the forms.

Close to 480,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Rakhine to Bangladesh since August 25

Myanmar is poised to begin "verifying" how many of the near half a million Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh it will take back, the Ministry of Information said on Thursday, naming land and sea points in restive Rakhine state for their return. Some 480,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Rakhine to Bangladesh since August 25, when militant attacks on sparked an army campaign that the UN says was tantamount to "ethnic cleansing". The new arrivals are living in increasingly desperate conditions in over-crowded rain-battered camps, reliant on a trickle of aid. Bangladesh, which already hosted hundreds of thousands of Rohingya before the latest crisis, has led the global chorus calling on Myanmar to take back the Rohingya and guarantee their safety. But it is unclear how many Rohingya, who numbered around one million in Myanmar before August 25, will be eligible for return to a country that does not recognise them as citizens. Many others are unwilling to move back to charred villages and communities cut by communal hate in Rakhine. Last week Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi said her country will repatriate those who meet a strict criteria set between the two countries in 1993, when tens of thousands of Rohingya were repatriated having fled Myanmar authorities. Verification will be carried out "soon" on Myanmar soil at two border points, the Ministry of Information said in a Facebook statement. They will be checked at "Taungpyo Latwe village for those who return by road and at Naguya Village for those who return by water," it said, quoting Win Myat Aye, Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. "After the verification process, the refugees will be settled at Dargyizar village," he was quoted as saying. Dargyizar village is in an area of Maungdaw hit hard by the recent communal violence, that saw hundreds killed and gutted countless Rohingya villages. The minority do not qualify for Myanmar citizenship despite many tracing back their family history in Rakhine for generations. The army insists they are not an ethnic group, but instead "Bengalis" -- or interlopers from across the border -- and therefore needed to be carefully counted back in. The Muslim group were stripped of citizenship by a junta-scripted law in 1982 and have been corralled ever since by a combination of legal controls and violence. Rights groups say the Myanmar government verification process will fall flat as many Rohingya will snub it, while others have lost the required documents in fires and flight. Many Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are now refusing to register with authorities there as repatriation talk grows louder, saying their identity as an ethnic group is not recognised on the forms.

Myanmar says poised to take back 'verified' Rohingya refugees

For members of Europe&#39;s biggest Rohingya community in Bradford, Northern England, the news from Myanmar brings a mix of anger, fear and haunting memories of dramatic escapes from their homeland.

Some 300 members of the Muslim minority have settled in Bradford in recent years under a refugee programme and they are desperate to draw international attention to the plight of their brethren.

&quot;If I grew up in Myanmar&nbsp;I would be dead today,&quot; said Omme Kulsum Harun, a 17-year-old wrapped in a traditional long white and yellow robe with a thick grey veil covering most of her head of black hair.

Kulsum said she would like to study nursing in order to help fellow Rohingya, hundreds of thousands of whom have fled into Bangladesh in recent weeks following a crackdown by Myanmar&#39;s military.

Harun&#39;s mother Samuda saw her own aunt raped by a soldier when she was a little girl and was told by villagers that her sister suffered the same fate while the family were trying to flee Myanmar.

&quot;Today, I don&#39;t even know if my sister is alive,&quot; the mother of seven told AFP, holding back tears.

&quot;It makes me so sad and angry when I watch the news and see the situation in Myanmar,&quot; she said.

The contrast could not be bigger with her new life.

Harun shows off a picture of her son Ismail Mohamed, a student at Bradford University.

A former wool-making hub, Bradford is one of Britain&#39;s most diverse cities and around a quarter of the population is Muslim, according to the latest census figures.

We won&#39;t give up

In a city where Victorian-era terraced houses stand side by side with mosques and abandoned industrial plants, Nijam Uddin Mohammed said he has found freedom.

The 36-year-old arrived in 2008 after spending more than 18 years in a refugee camp in Bangladesh.

&quot;My life started in Bradford. In the refugee camps back in Bangladesh we couldn&#39;t do what we wanted.&quot;

&quot;If we wanted to go for a walk or see some friends in another camp we had to seek permission. It was like a mini-prison. It was not a life.&quot; he said.

During the day, the father of two young children works as an interpreter for the state-run National Health Service and at night he drives a minicab.

He also heads up the Rohingya association of Bradford, which holds meetings at the homes of local Rohingya families every Monday.

At these meetings, the Rohingyas share news about their loved ones and discuss how to put pressure on the British government to become more active.

They have started petitions, held public meetings and sent letters to politicians including Prime Minister Theresa May.

&quot;The (Myanmar) army wants to shut us down but here in Bradford we are free and we are not afraid,&quot; Mohammed said.

&quot;Even if they have never known their homeland, our kids will always raise their voices. We won&#39;t give up.&quot;

Suu Kyi &#39;betrayed us&#39;

Their anger has been stoked further by speeches from the head of Myanmar&#39;s civilian administration, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has refused to condemn the military.

&quot;She betrayed us. We had great expectations but instead of helping us she remained silent.&quot;

&quot;She&#39;s doing politics with our lives,&quot; Mohammed said.

Referring to Suu Kyi&#39;s comments about reports of Rohingya suffering as &quot;fake news&quot;, Harun said: &quot;Is it fake news that my sister was raped by the military?&quot;

Mohammed said he welcomed Britain&#39;s decision to suspend military assistance to Myanmar&#39;s army.

But the deputy head of the association, Nur Huda, said it was up to Muslim countries to take the lead and follow the example of Turkey, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned &quot;Buddhist terrorism&quot;.

But Mohammed said: &quot;It is not a Muslim issue. We are all human beings who share the same blood and want to live.&quot;

Some 300 members of the Muslim minority have settled in Bradford in recent years under a refugee programme and they are desperate to draw international attention to the plight of their brethren

For members of Europe's biggest Rohingya community in Bradford, Northern England, the news from Myanmar brings a mix of anger, fear and haunting memories of dramatic escapes from their homeland. Some 300 members of the Muslim minority have settled in Bradford in recent years under a refugee programme and they are desperate to draw international attention to the plight of their brethren. "If I grew up in Myanmar I would be dead today," said Omme Kulsum Harun, a 17-year-old wrapped in a traditional long white and yellow robe with a thick grey veil covering most of her head of black hair. Kulsum said she would like to study nursing in order to help fellow Rohingya, hundreds of thousands of whom have fled into Bangladesh in recent weeks following a crackdown by Myanmar's military. Harun's mother Samuda saw her own aunt raped by a soldier when she was a little girl and was told by villagers that her sister suffered the same fate while the family were trying to flee Myanmar. "Today, I don't even know if my sister is alive," the mother of seven told AFP, holding back tears. "It makes me so sad and angry when I watch the news and see the situation in Myanmar," she said. The contrast could not be bigger with her new life. Harun shows off a picture of her son Ismail Mohamed, a student at Bradford University. A former wool-making hub, Bradford is one of Britain's most diverse cities and around a quarter of the population is Muslim, according to the latest census figures. We won't give up In a city where Victorian-era terraced houses stand side by side with mosques and abandoned industrial plants, Nijam Uddin Mohammed said he has found freedom. The 36-year-old arrived in 2008 after spending more than 18 years in a refugee camp in Bangladesh. "My life started in Bradford. In the refugee camps back in Bangladesh we couldn't do what we wanted." "If we wanted to go for a walk or see some friends in another camp we had to seek permission. It was like a mini-prison. It was not a life." he said. During the day, the father of two young children works as an interpreter for the state-run National Health Service and at night he drives a minicab. He also heads up the Rohingya association of Bradford, which holds meetings at the homes of local Rohingya families every Monday. At these meetings, the Rohingyas share news about their loved ones and discuss how to put pressure on the British government to become more active. They have started petitions, held public meetings and sent letters to politicians including Prime Minister Theresa May. "The (Myanmar) army wants to shut us down but here in Bradford we are free and we are not afraid," Mohammed said. "Even if they have never known their homeland, our kids will always raise their voices. We won't give up." Suu Kyi 'betrayed us' Their anger has been stoked further by speeches from the head of Myanmar's civilian administration, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has refused to condemn the military. "She betrayed us. We had great expectations but instead of helping us she remained silent." "She's doing politics with our lives," Mohammed said. Referring to Suu Kyi's comments about reports of Rohingya suffering as "fake news", Harun said: "Is it fake news that my sister was raped by the military?" Mohammed said he welcomed Britain's decision to suspend military assistance to Myanmar's army. But the deputy head of the association, Nur Huda, said it was up to Muslim countries to take the lead and follow the example of Turkey, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned "Buddhist terrorism". But Mohammed said: "It is not a Muslim issue. We are all human beings who share the same blood and want to live."

'I would be dead': Britain's Rohingyas speak out

Roadside&nbsp;bombs&nbsp;planted by suspected Muslim insurgents in&nbsp;southern Thailand&nbsp;killed one soldier&nbsp;on Thursday (September 14) and&nbsp;wounded&nbsp;20&nbsp;other people, most of them&nbsp;soldiers and police, security forces said.

The blasts occurred in Yala, one of the predominantly ethnic, Malay Muslim provinces in the deep south&nbsp;where a separatist insurgency has dragged on for decades, with more than 6,500 peoplekilled since&nbsp;2004 alone.

The first bomb did not result in any casualties, but the other two&nbsp;killed one&nbsp;soldier&nbsp;and&nbsp;wounded 18&nbsp;soldiers and police and two villagers. As with most violence in&nbsp;Thailand&#39;s&nbsp;deep&nbsp;south, there was no claim of responsibility.

The insurgents are fighting for secession from mostly Buddhist Thailand. Until they were annexed in 1909,&nbsp;Thailand&#39;s&nbsp;three&nbsp;southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat were part of an independent Malay Muslim sultanate.

The blasts occurred in Yala, one of the predominantly ethnic, Malay Muslim provinces in the deepsouth?where a separatist insurgency has dragged on for decades, with more than 6,500 people killed since?2004 alone.

Roadside bombs planted by suspected Muslim insurgents in southern Thailand killed one soldier on Thursday (September 14) and wounded 20 other people, most of them soldiers and police, security forces said. The blasts occurred in Yala, one of the predominantly ethnic, Malay Muslim provinces in the deep south where a separatist insurgency has dragged on for decades, with more than 6,500 peoplekilled since 2004 alone. The first bomb did not result in any casualties, but the other two killed one soldier and wounded 18 soldiers and police and two villagers. As with most violence in Thailand's deep south, there was no claim of responsibility. The insurgents are fighting for secession from mostly Buddhist Thailand. Until they were annexed in 1909, Thailand's three southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat were part of an independent Malay Muslim sultanate.

Thailand: 1 soldier?killed, twenty injured in bomb attack

The United Nations Security Council will hold an urgent meeting to discuss violence churning through western Myanmar, after the UN&#39;s rights chief warned that &quot;ethnic cleansing&quot; appeared to have driven over 300,000 Rohingya Muslims from the country.

Rakhine State was plunged into crisis after Rohingya militants attacked police posts in late August, prompting a military backlash that has sent nearly a third of the Muslim minority population fleeing to Bangladesh.

Exhausted Rohingya refugees have told stories of running from soldiers and Buddhist mobs who burned their villages to the ground and killed civilians indiscriminantly, while the government blames militants for the arson.

International pressure tightened on Myanmar&#39;s government Monday, as United Nations rights chief Zeid Ra&#39;ad Al Hussein said the violence seemed to be a &quot;textbook example of ethnic cleansing&quot;.

Hours after the warning, the Security Council announced it would meet Wednesday to discuss the crisis, which has heaped global opprobrium on Myanmar&#39;s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

A Nobel peace laureate, Suu Kyi is the focal point of anger from rights groups and a stream of fellow Nobel laureates for her failure to speak up for the Rohingya minority, who are denied citizenship and have suffered years of persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

Late Monday the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which she heads, said Myanmar &quot;welcomes the statements issued by the United Nations and a number of countries firmly condemning the terrorist attacks,&quot; without referencing the UN&#39;s charge of ethnic cleansing.

The statement also defended the military&#39;s operations as part of their &quot;legitimate duty to restore stability&quot;, saying troops were under orders &quot;to exercise all due restraint, and to take full measures to avoid collateral damage.&quot;

Britain and Sweden requested the urgent UNSC meeting amid growing international concern over the ongoing violence.

UN diplomats have said China, one of Myanmar&#39;s top trade partners, has been resisting involvement by the top UN council in addressing the crisis.

The announcement came after the White House broke its silence on the clashes, saying it was &quot;deeply troubled&quot; by attacks by both sides, including the militant ambushes in Rakhine.

Blame game

The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar has said the latest violence may have left more than 1,000 dead, most of them Rohingya.

Myanmar says the number of dead is around 430, the majority of them &quot;extremist terrorists&quot;.

It says a further 30,000 ethnic Rakhine and Hindus have been displaced inside northern Rakhine, where aid programs have been severely curtailed due to the violence.

The exodus of Rohingya, which so far tops 313,000 refugees, has saddled Bangladesh with its own humanitarian crisis, as aid workers scramble to provide food and shelter to a daily stream of bedraggled refugees.

The UN-run refugee camps in its Cox&#39;s Bazar district were already packed with Rohingya who had fled from previous waves of persecution.

Most of the new arrivals are in dire need of food, medical care and shelter after trekking for days through hills and jungles or braving dangerous boat journeys.

Dhaka is providing them temporary shelter.&nbsp;

But Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was due to visit a Rohingya camp on Tuesday, stressed it was up to Myanmar to &quot;resolve&quot; the issue.

&quot;Rohingyas are Myanmar&#39;s citizens. Now they are snatching their citizenship away in phases and forcing them out of the country,&quot; she told lawmakers on Monday night, according to local outlet bdnews24.com.

Earlier in the week Myanmar&#39;s army chief reiterated the stance of his powerful institution on the Rohingya question in a Facebook post, denying the group have ancestry inside Myanmar.

Although many Rohingya have lived in Rakhine for generations, the 1.1-million strong minority was stripped of its citizenship in 1982 by a law that did not recognise the group as an official ethnicity.

The Rohingya&#39;s failure to be &quot;scrutinised&quot; by this law is &quot;the root cause of the current problem,&quot; the army chief&#39;s post said.

&quot;The term &quot;Rohingya&quot; was not present in the country&#39;s history,&quot; the post added, a refrain often trotted out by ethnic Rakhine and Buddhist nationalists who insist on calling the Rohingya &quot;Bengalis&quot; -- or foreign interlopers.

Hatred of the Muslim minority has swelled in recent years, with Buddhist hardliners fanning fears of an Islamic takeover.&nbsp;

The latest violence has tweaked religious tensions across the country, with different ethnic groups trading allegations of who is behind the atrocities.

Dhaka, which has refused to permanently absorb the Rohingya, said it plans to build a huge new camp that will house a quarter of a million refugees.

But it remains unclear if or when they will be able to return.

Plumes of smoke continued to rise on the Myanmar side of the border this week despite the militants&#39; announcement on Sunday of a unilateral ceasefire.&nbsp;

There was no direct response from Myanmar&#39;s military, though government spokesman Zaw Htay tweeted: &quot;We have no policy to negotiate with terrorists.&quot;

Rakhine State was plunged into crisis after Rohingya militants attacked police posts in late August, prompting a military backlash that has sent nearly a third of the Muslim minority population fleeing to Bangladesh.

The United Nations Security Council will hold an urgent meeting to discuss violence churning through western Myanmar, after the UN's rights chief warned that "ethnic cleansing" appeared to have driven over 300,000 Rohingya Muslims from the country. Rakhine State was plunged into crisis after Rohingya militants attacked police posts in late August, prompting a military backlash that has sent nearly a third of the Muslim minority population fleeing to Bangladesh. Exhausted Rohingya refugees have told stories of running from soldiers and Buddhist mobs who burned their villages to the ground and killed civilians indiscriminantly, while the government blames militants for the arson. International pressure tightened on Myanmar's government Monday, as United Nations rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said the violence seemed to be a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing". Hours after the warning, the Security Council announced it would meet Wednesday to discuss the crisis, which has heaped global opprobrium on Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. A Nobel peace laureate, Suu Kyi is the focal point of anger from rights groups and a stream of fellow Nobel laureates for her failure to speak up for the Rohingya minority, who are denied citizenship and have suffered years of persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. Late Monday the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which she heads, said Myanmar "welcomes the statements issued by the United Nations and a number of countries firmly condemning the terrorist attacks," without referencing the UN's charge of ethnic cleansing. The statement also defended the military's operations as part of their "legitimate duty to restore stability", saying troops were under orders "to exercise all due restraint, and to take full measures to avoid collateral damage." Britain and Sweden requested the urgent UNSC meeting amid growing international concern over the ongoing violence. UN diplomats have said China, one of Myanmar's top trade partners, has been resisting involvement by the top UN council in addressing the crisis. The announcement came after the White House broke its silence on the clashes, saying it was "deeply troubled" by attacks by both sides, including the militant ambushes in Rakhine. Blame game The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar has said the latest violence may have left more than 1,000 dead, most of them Rohingya. Myanmar says the number of dead is around 430, the majority of them "extremist terrorists". It says a further 30,000 ethnic Rakhine and Hindus have been displaced inside northern Rakhine, where aid programs have been severely curtailed due to the violence. The exodus of Rohingya, which so far tops 313,000 refugees, has saddled Bangladesh with its own humanitarian crisis, as aid workers scramble to provide food and shelter to a daily stream of bedraggled refugees. The UN-run refugee camps in its Cox's Bazar district were already packed with Rohingya who had fled from previous waves of persecution. Most of the new arrivals are in dire need of food, medical care and shelter after trekking for days through hills and jungles or braving dangerous boat journeys. Dhaka is providing them temporary shelter. But Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was due to visit a Rohingya camp on Tuesday, stressed it was up to Myanmar to "resolve" the issue. "Rohingyas are Myanmar's citizens. Now they are snatching their citizenship away in phases and forcing them out of the country," she told lawmakers on Monday night, according to local outlet bdnews24.com. Earlier in the week Myanmar's army chief reiterated the stance of his powerful institution on the Rohingya question in a Facebook post, denying the group have ancestry inside Myanmar. Although many Rohingya have lived in Rakhine for generations, the 1.1-million strong minority was stripped of its citizenship in 1982 by a law that did not recognise the group as an official ethnicity. The Rohingya's failure to be "scrutinised" by this law is "the root cause of the current problem," the army chief's post said. "The term "Rohingya" was not present in the country's history," the post added, a refrain often trotted out by ethnic Rakhine and Buddhist nationalists who insist on calling the Rohingya "Bengalis" -- or foreign interlopers. Hatred of the Muslim minority has swelled in recent years, with Buddhist hardliners fanning fears of an Islamic takeover. The latest violence has tweaked religious tensions across the country, with different ethnic groups trading allegations of who is behind the atrocities. Dhaka, which has refused to permanently absorb the Rohingya, said it plans to build a huge new camp that will house a quarter of a million refugees. But it remains unclear if or when they will be able to return. Plumes of smoke continued to rise on the Myanmar side of the border this week despite the militants' announcement on Sunday of a unilateral ceasefire. There was no direct response from Myanmar's military, though government spokesman Zaw Htay tweeted: "We have no policy to negotiate with terrorists."

UN to discuss Myanmar after Rohingya 'ethnic cleansing' claim

Turkey&#39;s foreign minister will travel to Bangladesh to hold meetings about the fighting in northwestern Myanmar, sources from the ministry said on Tuesday.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/ahead-of-modis-visit-to-myanmar-aung-san-suu-kyi-under-pressure-to-end-rohingya-crisis-19884">Myanmar has come under pressure from countries with large Muslim populations</a> to stop violence against Rohingya Muslims after at least 400 people were killed and nearly 125,000 fled to Bangladesh in the deadliest bout of violence targeting the minority group in decades.

Mevlut Cavusoglu will travel to Bangladesh from Baku on Wednesday evening, the sources said. President Tayyip Erdogan has said the death of Rohingya Muslims constituted a genocide.

Myanmar has come under pressure from countries with large Muslim populations

Turkey's foreign minister will travel to Bangladesh to hold meetings about the fighting in northwestern Myanmar, sources from the ministry said on Tuesday. Myanmar has come under pressure from countries with large Muslim populations to stop violence against Rohingya Muslims after at least 400 people were killed and nearly 125,000 fled to Bangladesh in the deadliest bout of violence targeting the minority group in decades. Mevlut Cavusoglu will travel to Bangladesh from Baku on Wednesday evening, the sources said. President Tayyip Erdogan has said the death of Rohingya Muslims constituted a genocide.

Turkish foreign minister to visit Bangladesh to discuss Myanmar issue: Sources

Indonesian police have pledged to bar Islamist groups from staging a rally on Friday at the Borobudur Buddhist temple in central Java to protest against the persecution of Myanmar&#39;s Rohingya Muslims.

Islamist groups say they plan the demonstration close to the stupa-topped Borobudur temple, which dates from the 9th century and is a popular tourist site, to call for an end to violence against the religious and ethnic minority in Myanmar.

Indonesia has the world&#39;s largest population of Muslims and there have been a number of anti-Myanmar protests in Jakarta and the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur over the treatment of Buddhist-majority Myanmar&#39;s roughly 1.1 million Rohingyas.

Almost 125,000 Rohingyas have been forced to flee clashes between Rohingya insurgents and the army in the northwest Rakhine state. Tens of thousands have crossed the border into neighbouring Bangladesh.

&quot;The action at Borobudur temple will be prohibited,&quot; National Police Chief Tito Karnavian told reporters, according to media.

&quot;This is not just part of the heritage of Indonesia, but that of the world. There is no need for protests in response to the Rohingya conflict because the Indonesian government is taking action on it already.&quot;

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on Monday met Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and top security officials to call for a halt to the bloodshed. Marsudi was due in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital, on Tuesday.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif expressed &quot;deep anguish at the ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslims&quot; and urged the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to take &quot;immediate and effective action to bring an end to all human-rights violations against innocent and unarmed Rohingya Muslim population&quot;.

An organiser of Friday&#39;s planned protest said the groups wanted to protest peacefully near the Borobodur temple to show Indonesia&#39;s tolerance.

&quot;The Borobudur is an extraordinary symbol of tolerance,&quot; said Anang Imamuddin. &quot;We want the world to know that it is in a majority Muslim country but it is safe. Buddhist monks are safe here too.&quot;

Islamist groups say they plan the demonstration close to the stupa-topped Borobudur temple, to call for an end to violence against the religious and ethnic minority in Myanmar.

Indonesian police have pledged to bar Islamist groups from staging a rally on Friday at the Borobudur Buddhist temple in central Java to protest against the persecution of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims. Islamist groups say they plan the demonstration close to the stupa-topped Borobudur temple, which dates from the 9th century and is a popular tourist site, to call for an end to violence against the religious and ethnic minority in Myanmar. Indonesia has the world's largest population of Muslims and there have been a number of anti-Myanmar protests in Jakarta and the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur over the treatment of Buddhist-majority Myanmar's roughly 1.1 million Rohingyas. Almost 125,000 Rohingyas have been forced to flee clashes between Rohingya insurgents and the army in the northwest Rakhine state. Tens of thousands have crossed the border into neighbouring Bangladesh. "The action at Borobudur temple will be prohibited," National Police Chief Tito Karnavian told reporters, according to media. "This is not just part of the heritage of Indonesia, but that of the world. There is no need for protests in response to the Rohingya conflict because the Indonesian government is taking action on it already." Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on Monday met Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and top security officials to call for a halt to the bloodshed. Marsudi was due in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital, on Tuesday. Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif expressed "deep anguish at the ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslims" and urged the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to take "immediate and effective action to bring an end to all human-rights violations against innocent and unarmed Rohingya Muslim population". An organiser of Friday's planned protest said the groups wanted to protest peacefully near the Borobodur temple to show Indonesia's tolerance. "The Borobudur is an extraordinary symbol of tolerance," said Anang Imamuddin. "We want the world to know that it is in a majority Muslim country but it is safe. Buddhist monks are safe here too."

Indonesia to bar Myanmar protest at world's biggest Buddhist temple

Indonesia&#39;s foreign minister is due to meet Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday to discuss delivering <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/thousands-of-rohingyas-seek-safety-in-bangladesh-as-clashes-in-myanamr-intensify-19661">humanitarian aid to members of Myanmar&#39;s Rohingya minority</a>, as Indonesian protesters urged their government to take a tougher line.

Dozens of I<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/myanmar-violence-thousands-of-rohingyas-enter-bangladesh-more-stranded-in-no-mans-land-19554">ndonesians protested outside the Myanmar embassy in Jakarta</a> on Monday, calling for a cut in diplomatic ties with Myanmar over violence against its Rohingya Muslim minority.

Aid agencies estimate that about 90,000 Rohingya have fled from Myanmar into neighbouring Bangladesh since violence erupted in the north of Rakhine state last week.

&quot;We will discuss in detail Indonesia&#39;s proposal on how Indonesia can give humanitarian aid to Rakhine state,&quot; Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in a video statement from the Myanmar city of Yangon.

She is also scheduled to travel to Bangladesh to urge authorities there to protect fleeing Rohingya refugees.

In a sign of mounting public anger in Jakarta, a petrol bomb was thrown at the Myanmar embassy on Sunday, causing a small fire.

The protests follow demonstrations in Malaysia and condemnation from world leaders such as President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, who on Friday said the violence against Muslims amounted to genocide.

The Rohingya are denied citizenship in Myanmar and regarded as illegal immigrants, despite claiming roots that date back centuries. Bangladesh is also growing increasingly hostile to Rohingya, more than 400,000 of whom live in the poor South Asian country after fleeing Myanmar since the early 1990s.

Indonesia is home to the world&#39;s largest population of Muslims. Its government has been actively involved in providing aid for Myanmar to develop Rakhine state and protect the rights of the Rohingya, alongside the majority Buddhist community.

Ifah Rohma, an activist from a Jakarta-based organisation called Muslim Friends of Rohingya, said many Indonesians as fellow Muslims were concerned about the fate of Rohingya.

&quot;Indonesia should not be engaging in soft diplomacy,&quot; Rohma said outside the Myanmar embassy, which was surrounded by heavy security and barbed wire.

&quot;Now is the time to cut ties, recall our ambassador and expel their ambassador,&quot; she said.

Myanmar says its security forces are fighting a legitimate campaign against &quot;terrorists&quot; responsible for a string of attacks on police posts and the army since last October.

Dozens of Indonesians protested outside the Myanmar embassy in Jakarta on Monday, calling for a cut in diplomatic ties with Myanmar over violence against its Rohingya Muslim minority.

Indonesia's foreign minister is due to meet Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday to discuss delivering humanitarian aid to members of Myanmar's Rohingya minority, as Indonesian protesters urged their government to take a tougher line. Dozens of Indonesians protested outside the Myanmar embassy in Jakarta on Monday, calling for a cut in diplomatic ties with Myanmar over violence against its Rohingya Muslim minority. Aid agencies estimate that about 90,000 Rohingya have fled from Myanmar into neighbouring Bangladesh since violence erupted in the north of Rakhine state last week. "We will discuss in detail Indonesia's proposal on how Indonesia can give humanitarian aid to Rakhine state," Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in a video statement from the Myanmar city of Yangon. She is also scheduled to travel to Bangladesh to urge authorities there to protect fleeing Rohingya refugees. In a sign of mounting public anger in Jakarta, a petrol bomb was thrown at the Myanmar embassy on Sunday, causing a small fire. The protests follow demonstrations in Malaysia and condemnation from world leaders such as President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, who on Friday said the violence against Muslims amounted to genocide. The Rohingya are denied citizenship in Myanmar and regarded as illegal immigrants, despite claiming roots that date back centuries. Bangladesh is also growing increasingly hostile to Rohingya, more than 400,000 of whom live in the poor South Asian country after fleeing Myanmar since the early 1990s. Indonesia is home to the world's largest population of Muslims. Its government has been actively involved in providing aid for Myanmar to develop Rakhine state and protect the rights of the Rohingya, alongside the majority Buddhist community. Ifah Rohma, an activist from a Jakarta-based organisation called Muslim Friends of Rohingya, said many Indonesians as fellow Muslims were concerned about the fate of Rohingya. "Indonesia should not be engaging in soft diplomacy," Rohma said outside the Myanmar embassy, which was surrounded by heavy security and barbed wire. "Now is the time to cut ties, recall our ambassador and expel their ambassador," she said. Myanmar says its security forces are fighting a legitimate campaign against "terrorists" responsible for a string of attacks on police posts and the army since last October.

Indonesian minister to meet Suu Kyi amid protests over Rohingyas

Pakistan&#39;s cattle markets have been crammed for weeks as the Muslim country prepares for the sacrificial festival of Eid al-Adha this weekend, but in Islamabad and Karachi crowd-weary residents are ordering animals by app instead.

Muslims slaughter an animal, a goat, sheep, cow, bull or camel, on the annual festival in a ritual that stems from the story of the prophet Abraham, commanded by God to slaughter his beloved son Ismail.&nbsp;

The meat is then distributed in equal parts to the poor, to relatives, and consumed by the family themselves.

The centuries-old festival is steeped in tradition, but this year some middle-class Pakistanis are turning to technology to skip the packed markets and ordering their animals via the ride-sharing app Careem.

The app, which is growing in popularity in Pakistan, introduced a &quot;Bakra (goat) on wheels&quot;&nbsp;initiative in the run-up to Eid, with specially-painted trucks ferrying the animals to customers.

The response was &quot;substantial&quot;, Careem marketing executive Abuzar Khan told AFP, adding they have sold nearly 30 goats so far.&nbsp;

But there was little chance of it threatening demand for animals at the country&#39;s&nbsp;bustling cattle markets.

At one market set up temporarily in Islamabad, this week farmers from across the country soaped and shampooed goats and camels, some shaving patterns into their coats to make them look more appealing in the eyes of judicious customers.

Social media was flooded with videos showing camels being transported by rickshaw and sheep clinging to the back of motorcycles as Pakistanis shepherded their purchases home.

Experts say that the livestock market in Pakistan is growing by up to four per cent annually as more young entrepreneurs are taking interest, and volume is high during Eid, explained trader Syed Hayat Raza Naqvi.

&quot;The minimum price of a bull, which takes two and a half years to groom, is 65,000 rupees ($650) and it goes higher than five or 600,000 rupees ($6,000),&quot; he said.

<img src="https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gif" />

The app, which is growing in popularity in Pakistan, introduced a 'Bakra (goat) on wheels' initiative in the run-up to Eid, with specially-painted trucks ferrying the animals to customers

Pakistan's cattle markets have been crammed for weeks as the Muslim country prepares for the sacrificial festival of Eid al-Adha this weekend, but in Islamabad and Karachi crowd-weary residents are ordering animals by app instead. Muslims slaughter an animal, a goat, sheep, cow, bull or camel, on the annual festival in a ritual that stems from the story of the prophet Abraham, commanded by God to slaughter his beloved son Ismail. The meat is then distributed in equal parts to the poor, to relatives, and consumed by the family themselves. The centuries-old festival is steeped in tradition, but this year some middle-class Pakistanis are turning to technology to skip the packed markets and ordering their animals via the ride-sharing app Careem. The app, which is growing in popularity in Pakistan, introduced a "Bakra (goat) on wheels" initiative in the run-up to Eid, with specially-painted trucks ferrying the animals to customers. The response was "substantial", Careem marketing executive Abuzar Khan told AFP, adding they have sold nearly 30 goats so far. But there was little chance of it threatening demand for animals at the country's bustling cattle markets. At one market set up temporarily in Islamabad, this week farmers from across the country soaped and shampooed goats and camels, some shaving patterns into their coats to make them look more appealing in the eyes of judicious customers. Social media was flooded with videos showing camels being transported by rickshaw and sheep clinging to the back of motorcycles as Pakistanis shepherded their purchases home. Experts say that the livestock market in Pakistan is growing by up to four per cent annually as more young entrepreneurs are taking interest, and volume is high during Eid, explained trader Syed Hayat Raza Naqvi. "The minimum price of a bull, which takes two and a half years to groom, is 65,000 rupees ($650) and it goes higher than five or 600,000 rupees ($6,000)," he said.

Pakistan's 'goat on wheels' app is a big hit this Eid

In addition to English and Bengali, my three-and-a-half-year-old son is learning Arabic in school. Even he has Islam as a&nbsp;subject&nbsp;in his playgroup class.&nbsp;

Once, I happened to be in the school&#39;s sports room where children play with toys and listen to rhymes.&nbsp;The first rhyme they listened to was &ldquo;Bismillah Bismillah in the name of Allah&rdquo;. 
&nbsp; 
Some days later, one evening, I found my son flipping through his school book and reading to himself some Arabic alphabets. My wife was impressed. Who wouldn&rsquo;t be? In a country like Bangladesh, Arabic is not just a mere language but a symbol of Islam. &nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
I remember my school days when third grade onwards, we had mandatory religious studies. Muslim students would have to follow a curriculum in consonance with their religion while Hindus did likewise. The textbooks were akin to those studied in moral science lessons. The world is more advanced now. Probably, that is why children are being taught about religion at an earlier stage. 
&nbsp; 
It&rsquo;s not the same everywhere. Public schools follow a combined curriculum set by the government where religion is a compulsory subject from the third grade. But private schools, especially pre-schools, are at liberty to introduce it at earlier levels. Education, like many other things, has become a mushrooming business in Bangladesh. Inclusion of religion in the curriculum, no matter how young the children are, can make all the difference. This is done mainly to attract students, to persuade parents to send their wards to such schools. Ensuring proper education takes a backseat. &nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;

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<h5>Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore famously said, &lsquo;&lsquo;First, know your own mother tongue, then English.&rsquo;&rsquo; He had travelled extensively and had observed&nbsp;that no country could prosper sans its mother language</h5>
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&nbsp;

Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore famously said, &lsquo;&lsquo;First, know your own mother tongue, then English.&rsquo;&rsquo; He had travelled extensively and had observed&nbsp;that no country could prosper sans its mother language. Since the creation of Bangladesh, the quality of education has been on a downward spiral. Constant leaks of examination question papers are a big problem. As pass&nbsp;rates of students have been going&nbsp;up, the standard of education has been going&nbsp;down. 
&nbsp; 
The other day, a cousin of mine requested me to fill her bank account opening form which was in English. My cousin, who has a BA degree, cannot read the language. This brings us to an important question.&nbsp;What type&nbsp;of graduates is Bangladesh producing?&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
As a result of the disastrous Bengali medium education system, a number of parents are sending their kids to English medium schools while the poor children have the madrasa education system only. The situation has come to such a head that Dhaka has given the Dawra&nbsp;degree of Qawami madrasa the same recognition that is accorded to a university master&#39;s degree. Bangladesh is one country, there is one language but&nbsp;there are four types of education systems. &nbsp;

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<h5>Our language and culture are in grave danger in these dark&nbsp;moments</h5>
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&nbsp;

Few weeks ago, the ruling Awami League Party allegedly approved a project to build mosques and Islamic cultural centres in every district and sub-district across the country, with over $1 billion in funding from Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government has subsequently denied any such funding but it is known that the&nbsp;Kingdom, for long, has been known to fan Sunni extremism through these kind of donations around the globe. &nbsp;&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Also, earlier this year, school textbooks in Bangladesh were changed to appease the Islamist groups, particularly Hefazat-e-Islam. This is an excerpt published in New York Times on February 3, 2017 on the matter:&nbsp;&lsquo;&lsquo;The Bengali letter &ldquo;o&rdquo;?used to stand for &ldquo;ol,&rdquo; a yam; now it stands for &ldquo;orna,&rdquo; a scarf worn by women for modesty. Texts by non-Muslim writers&mdash;including some revered as part of Bengali heritage, like the classical poet Gyandas or the contemporary novelist Sunil Gangopadhyay&mdash;have been removed. Also gone are a small excerpt from the Ramayana, a Hindu classic that Islamists reject as foreign to the Muslim canon, and songs of the Sufi icon Lalon Shah, whose syncretic faith is anathema to Muslim conservatives.&rsquo;&rsquo; &nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
This is not all. Removal of the statue of Lady Justice from the Supreme Court building also sent shockwaves through the secular sections of Bangladesh&#39;s people. Taking cue from this, now the Islamist groups want all statues in the country destroyed.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Our language and culture are in grave danger in these dark&nbsp;moments. The celebration of the Bengali New Year did not go smoothly this year. Some fundamentalist groups protested against the celebrations, terming the festivities un-Islamic and a rub-off of Hindu culture. &nbsp;&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
The consequences of this rampant Arabisation are everywhere &mdash; in thinking, and even in clothing. Over the last 20 years, there has been a remarkable increase in the number of women wearing hijab and burqa. On Dhaka&rsquo;s streets, it is quite normal to spot a five or a six-year-old girl, walking on the streets, covered head to toe. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

 
&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

School textbooks in Bangladesh were changed to appease Islamist groups

In addition to English and Bengali, my three-and-a-half-year-old son is learning Arabic in school. Even he has Islam as a subject in his playgroup class. Once, I happened to be in the school's sports room where children play with toys and listen to rhymes. The first rhyme they listened to was “Bismillah Bismillah in the name of Allah”. Some days later, one evening, I found my son flipping through his school book and reading to himself some Arabic alphabets. My wife was impressed. Who wouldn’t be? In a country like Bangladesh, Arabic is not just a mere language but a symbol of Islam. I remember my school days when third grade onwards, we had mandatory religious studies. Muslim students would have to follow a curriculum in consonance with their religion while Hindus did likewise. The textbooks were akin to those studied in moral science lessons. The world is more advanced now. Probably, that is why children are being taught about religion at an earlier stage. It’s not the same everywhere. Public schools follow a combined curriculum set by the government where religion is a compulsory subject from the third grade. But private schools, especially pre-schools, are at liberty to introduce it at earlier levels. Education, like many other things, has become a mushrooming business in Bangladesh. Inclusion of religion in the curriculum, no matter how young the children are, can make all the difference. This is done mainly to attract students, to persuade parents to send their wards to such schools. Ensuring proper education takes a backseat. Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore famously said, ‘‘First, know your own mother tongue, then English.’’ He had travelled extensively and had observed that no country could prosper sans its mother language × Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore famously said, ‘‘First, know your own mother tongue, then English.’’ He had travelled extensively and had observed that no country could prosper sans its mother language. Since the creation of Bangladesh, the quality of education has been on a downward spiral. Constant leaks of examination question papers are a big problem. As pass rates of students have been going up, the standard of education has been going down. The other day, a cousin of mine requested me to fill her bank account opening form which was in English. My cousin, who has a BA degree, cannot read the language. This brings us to an important question. What type of graduates is Bangladesh producing? As a result of the disastrous Bengali medium education system, a number of parents are sending their kids to English medium schools while the poor children have the madrasa education system only. The situation has come to such a head that Dhaka has given the Dawra degree of Qawami madrasa the same recognition that is accorded to a university master's degree. Bangladesh is one country, there is one language but there are four types of education systems. Our language and culture are in grave danger in these dark moments × Few weeks ago, the ruling Awami League Party allegedly approved a project to build mosques and Islamic cultural centres in every district and sub-district across the country, with over $1 billion in funding from Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government has subsequently denied any such funding but it is known that the Kingdom, for long, has been known to fan Sunni extremism through these kind of donations around the globe. Also, earlier this year, school textbooks in Bangladesh were changed to appease the Islamist groups, particularly Hefazat-e-Islam. This is an excerpt published in New York Times on February 3, 2017 on the matter: ‘‘The Bengali letter “o”?used to stand for “ol,” a yam; now it stands for “orna,” a scarf worn by women for modesty. Texts by non-Muslim writers—including some revered as part of Bengali heritage, like the classical poet Gyandas or the contemporary novelist Sunil Gangopadhyay—have been removed. Also gone are a small excerpt from the Ramayana, a Hindu classic that Islamists reject as foreign to the Muslim canon, and songs of the Sufi icon Lalon Shah, whose syncretic faith is anathema to Muslim conservatives.’’ This is not all. Removal of the statue of Lady Justice from the Supreme Court building also sent shockwaves through the secular sections of Bangladesh's people. Taking cue from this, now the Islamist groups want all statues in the country destroyed. Our language and culture are in grave danger in these dark moments. The celebration of the Bengali New Year did not go smoothly this year. Some fundamentalist groups protested against the celebrations, terming the festivities un-Islamic and a rub-off of Hindu culture. The consequences of this rampant Arabisation are everywhere — in thinking, and even in clothing. Over the last 20 years, there has been a remarkable increase in the number of women wearing hijab and burqa. On Dhaka’s streets, it is quite normal to spot a five or a six-year-old girl, walking on the streets, covered head to toe.

The rise of Islamism in Bangladesh threatens to destroy the country's Bengali way of life

With Islamophobia back into the limelight this election season in the United States following Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump&#39;s idea to ban Muslims from entering the US, the Sikh community in New York shares how Sikhism is often confused with Islam here.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in response to Trump had brought in Khizr Khan, who criticised trump, highlighting the story of his son, who fought for the United States and died during the ongoing Iraq war.

This is what the New York cab drivers - many of whom are Sikh -&nbsp;but are mistaken for being Muslim, have to say.

Nearly half of the taxi drivers in the city are South Asian and two of every 10 are Sikh.

&quot;It&#39;s a good way to make a living because I have no other qualifications, and it&#39;s a way to support your family. But sometimes they call us Osama Bin Laden here,&quot; said Ravinder Singh who has been a cab driver in NYC for 20 years. &quot;I feel they are ignorant - they don&#39;t know Sikhism,&quot; he added. The turbans confuse people, he said.

&quot;It hurts me - I&#39;m not part of OBL. We are a very peaceful country. We love this country. We&#39;re living in this country and growing our family,&quot; Ravinder adds.

&quot;They are misunderstanding us. They think people with beards and turbans are Muslims,&quot; says Satnam Singh, who has been driving around New York for the last 14 years.&nbsp;&quot;They say things like go back to India,&quot; he adds.

The two agree&nbsp;that the racist remarks come with the job. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s horrible - I can&#39;t run behind them, or teach them or fight them,&quot; Satnam Singh adds.&nbsp;&quot;I understand that people don&#39;t understand me. If they try to listen to me, I say I am not a Muslim, I am a Sikh.&quot;

&quot;We try to explain who we are, what is our religion, how peaceful we are, they don&#39;t hate Sikhism, they hate Muslims. They say Salam Waliqum - I say I am not Muslim, and I am Sikh and this is the way of our life and they feel happy,&quot; Ravinder Singh says.&nbsp;&quot;I&#39;ve been in Michigan. I bought a convenience store. The white people in the white village hate us. But in New York, I never felt that. We try to help people how much we can. We are not bad people. The first lesson is to love human beings, help each other, help the poor, and don&#39;t discriminate anybody,&quot; he adds.

The discrimination, however, is not as bad as in other parts of the country.&nbsp;But they do want people to understand what Sikhism is all about. For now, they educate one passenger at a time.

&quot;It&#39;ll take time - but one day people will realise we are nice people,&quot; Ravinder adds.

It&#39;s been 15 years since the September 11 attacks. Many Sikhs in NYC say that they have been targeted since then. But they say it&#39;s still not as bad as in other parts of the country, where even Gurudwaras have been attacked. The fundamental reason&nbsp;behind this violence is ignorance, and a lack of understanding of what their religion stands for.

(WION)

Nearly half of the cab drivers in New York city are South Asian and two of every 10 are Sikh

With Islamophobia back into the limelight this election season in the United States following Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's idea to ban Muslims from entering the US, the Sikh community in New York shares how Sikhism is often confused with Islam here. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in response to Trump had brought in Khizr Khan, who criticised trump, highlighting the story of his son, who fought for the United States and died during the ongoing Iraq war. This is what the New York cab drivers - many of whom are Sikh - but are mistaken for being Muslim, have to say. Nearly half of the taxi drivers in the city are South Asian and two of every 10 are Sikh. "It's a good way to make a living because I have no other qualifications, and it's a way to support your family. But sometimes they call us Osama Bin Laden here," said Ravinder Singh who has been a cab driver in NYC for 20 years. "I feel they are ignorant - they don't know Sikhism," he added. The turbans confuse people, he said. "It hurts me - I'm not part of OBL. We are a very peaceful country. We love this country. We're living in this country and growing our family," Ravinder adds. "They are misunderstanding us. They think people with beards and turbans are Muslims," says Satnam Singh, who has been driving around New York for the last 14 years. "They say things like go back to India," he adds. The two agree that the racist remarks come with the job. "It's horrible - I can't run behind them, or teach them or fight them," Satnam Singh adds. "I understand that people don't understand me. If they try to listen to me, I say I am not a Muslim, I am a Sikh." "We try to explain who we are, what is our religion, how peaceful we are, they don't hate Sikhism, they hate Muslims. They say Salam Waliqum - I say I am not Muslim, and I am Sikh and this is the way of our life and they feel happy," Ravinder Singh says. "I've been in Michigan. I bought a convenience store. The white people in the white village hate us. But in New York, I never felt that. We try to help people how much we can. We are not bad people. The first lesson is to love human beings, help each other, help the poor, and don't discriminate anybody," he adds. The discrimination, however, is not as bad as in other parts of the country. But they do want people to understand what Sikhism is all about. For now, they educate one passenger at a time. "It'll take time - but one day people will realise we are nice people," Ravinder adds. It's been 15 years since the September 11 attacks. Many Sikhs in NYC say that they have been targeted since then. But they say it's still not as bad as in other parts of the country, where even Gurudwaras have been attacked. The fundamental reason behind this violence is ignorance, and a lack of understanding of what their religion stands for. (WION)

US election 2016: Sikhism often confused with Islam, say Sikh voters

The leaders of Muslim and gay rights groups in Chicago, one of America&#39;s biggest cities, on Monday joined forces to slam Donald Trump in the wake of the Orlando massacre, saying now was not a time for divisions. 
 
On June 12, 49 people were killed and 53 others wounded in the shooting at a gay nightclub in the central Florida city. The shooter Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old Muslim American of Afghan descent, was killed in a shootout with police. 
 
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has since renewed calls for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States and controversially suggested on Sunday that profiling of Muslims was not off the table. 
 
In Chicago, which has both a large Muslim population and a vibrant lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, leaders said Trump&#39;s comment were divisive and unproductive. 
 
&quot;We&#39;re scared, because it starts rhetorically, and then more people accept it if you don&#39;t nip it in the bud,&quot; Ahmed Rehab, the leader of the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told AFP. 
 
&quot;If common sense doesn&#39;t step in right now, people are capable of mass hysteria, and he is fanning those flames,&quot; he said, speaking of Trump. 
 
Rehab said there was fear in Chicago&#39;s Muslim community, one of the largest in the United States, that they could potentially become targets of hate crimes. 
 
In the past week, there have been two threats emailed and phoned into area mosques, he said. 
 
&quot;There is never a time to divide Americans, and of course that is especially true at a time of deep national pain,&quot; James Bennett of Lambda Legal, an LGBT group, told a press conference. 
 
Rehab told reporters that his group and Lambda Legal planned to meet every two weeks with the goal of making &quot;clear statements on a mutual agenda of equal civil rights of all people regardless of their background.&quot; 
 
Bennett chimed in: &quot;I would encourage people to watch Chicago&#39;s example.&quot; 
 
Sending a message 
 
Illinois is home to an estimated 400,000 Muslims and 370,000 LGBT people, most of them located in the greater Chicago area, which has a population of about 5.2 million people. 
 
&quot;We&#39;re trying to send a message that this is not the time to try to pit communities against each other,&quot; said Brian Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois, a gay rights group. 
 
&quot;Any public official or media personality who says such things that would not only suggest divides, but suggest putting in place actual divides, is deeply concerning,&quot; Johnson told AFP. 
 
On Sunday, Trump said profiling of Muslims, and racial profiling more generally, was &quot;not the worst thing to do.&quot; 
 
&quot;I hate the concept of profiling. But we have to use common sense. We&#39;re not using common sense,&quot; Trump said. 
 
African-Americans, Latinos, Muslims and other minorities in the United States have complained bitterly for decades about the practice in which police use a person&#39;s race, religion, national origin or ethnicity as grounds for suspecting them of committing a crime. 
 
&quot;He questions Muslims&#39; assimilation into America. I question his assimilation into our American values,&quot; Rehab said.&nbsp; 
 
(AFP)

'There is never a time to divide Americans and that is especially true at a time of deep national pain,' they said

The leaders of Muslim and gay rights groups in Chicago, one of America's biggest cities, on Monday joined forces to slam Donald Trump in the wake of the Orlando massacre, saying now was not a time for divisions. On June 12, 49 people were killed and 53 others wounded in the shooting at a gay nightclub in the central Florida city. The shooter Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old Muslim American of Afghan descent, was killed in a shootout with police. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has since renewed calls for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States and controversially suggested on Sunday that profiling of Muslims was not off the table. In Chicago, which has both a large Muslim population and a vibrant lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, leaders said Trump's comment were divisive and unproductive. "We're scared, because it starts rhetorically, and then more people accept it if you don't nip it in the bud," Ahmed Rehab, the leader of the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told AFP. "If common sense doesn't step in right now, people are capable of mass hysteria, and he is fanning those flames," he said, speaking of Trump. Rehab said there was fear in Chicago's Muslim community, one of the largest in the United States, that they could potentially become targets of hate crimes. In the past week, there have been two threats emailed and phoned into area mosques, he said. "There is never a time to divide Americans, and of course that is especially true at a time of deep national pain," James Bennett of Lambda Legal, an LGBT group, told a press conference. Rehab told reporters that his group and Lambda Legal planned to meet every two weeks with the goal of making "clear statements on a mutual agenda of equal civil rights of all people regardless of their background." Bennett chimed in: "I would encourage people to watch Chicago's example." Sending a message Illinois is home to an estimated 400,000 Muslims and 370,000 LGBT people, most of them located in the greater Chicago area, which has a population of about 5.2 million people. "We're trying to send a message that this is not the time to try to pit communities against each other," said Brian Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois, a gay rights group. "Any public official or media personality who says such things that would not only suggest divides, but suggest putting in place actual divides, is deeply concerning," Johnson told AFP. On Sunday, Trump said profiling of Muslims, and racial profiling more generally, was "not the worst thing to do." "I hate the concept of profiling. But we have to use common sense. We're not using common sense," Trump said. African-Americans, Latinos, Muslims and other minorities in the United States have complained bitterly for decades about the practice in which police use a person's race, religion, national origin or ethnicity as grounds for suspecting them of committing a crime. "He questions Muslims' assimilation into America. I question his assimilation into our American values," Rehab said. (AFP)

In Chicago, Muslim and gay rights leaders take on Trump

In a case of alleged discrimination in the US, a 40-year-old Muslim man was removed from a plane after a flight attendant publicly announced his name, seat number and said she would be &quot;watching&quot; him. 
 
The matter came to light yesterday when the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) complained to transport authorities that Mohamed Ahmed Radwan was removed from the American Airlines Flight last December because of his &quot;identifiably Arabic and Muslim name&quot;. 
 
According to federal law, airlines are prohibited from discriminating against passengers based on religion, ancestry and national origin, among other criteria. 
 
CAIR sent a letter to the Department of Transportation (DOT) yesterday urging an investigation and also called for a &quot;thorough examination&quot; into prevailing practices of major airlines, The Charlotte Observer reported.&nbsp;In addition, CAIR said the DOT should develop policy guidelines on objective factors to be looked at while deciding to remove a passenger from a plane. 
 
Radwan, a chemical engineer, said he was flying from Charlotte to Detroit on December 6, 2015, on American Airlines Flight 1821. 
 
As he was taking his allotted seat, Radwan said, a female flight attendant loudly announced, &quot;Mohamed Ahmed, Seat 25-A, I will be watching you&quot;. 
 
After a minute, she repeated, &quot;Mohamed Ahmed, that is a very long name, Seat 25-A, I will be watching you&quot;. Then a third time, according to Radwan, she said, &quot;25-A: you will be watched&quot;. 
 
&quot;I was in total shock. I&#39;ve been flying for over 30 years, and I&#39;ve never heard something like that,&quot; he said. 
 
The flight attendant did not make such a statement about any other passenger, Radwan said. When he asked about her statements, the attendant said she was going to monitor everyone. When asked why she singled him out, the attendant accused him of being &quot;too sensitive&quot; and walked away, he said. 
 
After a couple of American Airlines employees talked to him, he was told the attendant felt &quot;uncomfortable&quot; and he was escorted off the flight. 
 
&quot;I felt too unsafe to fly with American again,&quot; he said. Radwan instead booked a much later flight, which cost him about $1,500 and interfered with his travel plans.&nbsp;Worse than the inconvenience was the humiliation of being treated like a terrorist, Radwan said. 
 
&quot;I&#39;ve been a US citizen for 13 years, but at that moment I felt my sense of being American taken from me,&quot; he said. 
 
In April, a Muslim woman was removed from a Southwest Airlines plane at a Chicago airport after she had asked to switch seats as she was told she had made the flight attendant &quot;uncomfortable&quot;. 
 
A Muslim family of five were also escorted off a United Airlines flight in March for &quot;how they looked&quot;. 
 
(PTI)

Council on American-Islamic Relations complained to transport authorities that Mohamed Ahmed Radwan was removed because he was a Muslim

In a case of alleged discrimination in the US, a 40-year-old Muslim man was removed from a plane after a flight attendant publicly announced his name, seat number and said she would be "watching" him. The matter came to light yesterday when the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) complained to transport authorities that Mohamed Ahmed Radwan was removed from the American Airlines Flight last December because of his "identifiably Arabic and Muslim name". According to federal law, airlines are prohibited from discriminating against passengers based on religion, ancestry and national origin, among other criteria. CAIR sent a letter to the Department of Transportation (DOT) yesterday urging an investigation and also called for a "thorough examination" into prevailing practices of major airlines, The Charlotte Observer reported. In addition, CAIR said the DOT should develop policy guidelines on objective factors to be looked at while deciding to remove a passenger from a plane. Radwan, a chemical engineer, said he was flying from Charlotte to Detroit on December 6, 2015, on American Airlines Flight 1821. As he was taking his allotted seat, Radwan said, a female flight attendant loudly announced, "Mohamed Ahmed, Seat 25-A, I will be watching you". After a minute, she repeated, "Mohamed Ahmed, that is a very long name, Seat 25-A, I will be watching you". Then a third time, according to Radwan, she said, "25-A: you will be watched". "I was in total shock. I've been flying for over 30 years, and I've never heard something like that," he said. The flight attendant did not make such a statement about any other passenger, Radwan said. When he asked about her statements, the attendant said she was going to monitor everyone. When asked why she singled him out, the attendant accused him of being "too sensitive" and walked away, he said. After a couple of American Airlines employees talked to him, he was told the attendant felt "uncomfortable" and he was escorted off the flight. "I felt too unsafe to fly with American again," he said. Radwan instead booked a much later flight, which cost him about $1,500 and interfered with his travel plans. Worse than the inconvenience was the humiliation of being treated like a terrorist, Radwan said. "I've been a US citizen for 13 years, but at that moment I felt my sense of being American taken from me," he said. In April, a Muslim woman was removed from a Southwest Airlines plane at a Chicago airport after she had asked to switch seats as she was told she had made the flight attendant "uncomfortable". A Muslim family of five were also escorted off a United Airlines flight in March for "how they looked". (PTI)

Muslim man removed from flight after attendant publicly announces she will be 'watching' him

More children are falling victim to contagious diseases in Muslim-majority Malaysia, worrying health authorities as parents reject immunisation programmes for fear the vaccines used infringe strict religious rules. 
 
The deaths of five children in June from diphtheria, a disease that can be prevented by vaccines, provoked an outcry among doctors and spurred calls for an edict by religious authorities to compel Muslim families to immunise children. 
 
&quot;Our concern is, if it&#39;s left uncontrolled, in the long-term we might see a significant effect on the nation as a whole,&quot; health minister S Subramaniam told Reuters in an interview. 
 
Although Muslim religious authorities have waived the stringent halal requirement if suitable vaccines are not available, concerns have redoubled recently that some may contain substances such as pig DNA, forbidden by Islam. 
 
Paediatrician Musa Mohamad Nordin said there was a lot of misinformation in Malaysia&#39;s Muslim community, mostly ethnic Malays who form 61 per cent of a population of about 30 million that includes substantial ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities. 
 
&quot;I&#39;m upset, and also saddened, that some religious teachers are spreading rumours that vaccines contain a composition that is not permissible by Islamic jurisprudence,&quot; added Musa, a member of Malaysia&#39;s Federation of Islamic Medical Associations. 
 
Only a few families have rejected vaccinations, but the number has more than doubled in the past three years to reach 1,541 in 2015, Subramaniam said, which is reflected in a rise in vaccine-preventable diseases, from diphtheria to measles. 
 
As with anti-vaccination movements elsewhere, many Malaysians who refuse vaccinations worry about potential side effects or efficacy, Subramaniam said. It is not clear what provoked the suspicions over pig DNA. 
 
But three-quarters of the parents who rejected immunisation last year in the northern state of Kedah, which has the highest rates of vaccine refusal in Malaysia, cited doubts over their halal status, a survey showed. 
 
Malaysia&#39;s highest Islamic body, the National Fatwa Council, has ruled vaccination permissible under Islamic law, even allowing vaccines with non-halal components, in the absence of halal alternatives. 
 
The council has not yet decided on an edict of mandatory vaccinations for Muslims, Federal Territory Mufti Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri said in an interview. 
 
&quot;On the whole, we find that vaccines have been very beneficial to society,&quot; Zulkifli added. 
 
&#39;Parents rights&#39; 
 
Last Sunday, parents at a vaccination forum on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, the capital, recounted the side effects their children suffered. 
 
Parents should have the right to refuse vaccination, said alternative medicine practitioner Arif Faizal, 36. 
 
&quot;There is no law compelling mandatory vaccines, and even on the global level, very few countries support such a move,&quot; he told Reuters. 
 
Others felt vaccinations were essential, however. 
 
&quot;As Muslim parents, we have a responsibility to protect our children,&quot; said Wan Normaniza Wan Hasan, a teacher and mother of six. 
 
(Reuters)

In the Muslim-majority country, parents fear the vaccine used in immunisation programmes infringes on strict religious rulings

More children are falling victim to contagious diseases in Muslim-majority Malaysia, worrying health authorities as parents reject immunisation programmes for fear the vaccines used infringe strict religious rules. The deaths of five children in June from diphtheria, a disease that can be prevented by vaccines, provoked an outcry among doctors and spurred calls for an edict by religious authorities to compel Muslim families to immunise children. "Our concern is, if it's left uncontrolled, in the long-term we might see a significant effect on the nation as a whole," health minister S Subramaniam told Reuters in an interview. Although Muslim religious authorities have waived the stringent halal requirement if suitable vaccines are not available, concerns have redoubled recently that some may contain substances such as pig DNA, forbidden by Islam. Paediatrician Musa Mohamad Nordin said there was a lot of misinformation in Malaysia's Muslim community, mostly ethnic Malays who form 61 per cent of a population of about 30 million that includes substantial ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities. "I'm upset, and also saddened, that some religious teachers are spreading rumours that vaccines contain a composition that is not permissible by Islamic jurisprudence," added Musa, a member of Malaysia's Federation of Islamic Medical Associations. Only a few families have rejected vaccinations, but the number has more than doubled in the past three years to reach 1,541 in 2015, Subramaniam said, which is reflected in a rise in vaccine-preventable diseases, from diphtheria to measles. As with anti-vaccination movements elsewhere, many Malaysians who refuse vaccinations worry about potential side effects or efficacy, Subramaniam said. It is not clear what provoked the suspicions over pig DNA. But three-quarters of the parents who rejected immunisation last year in the northern state of Kedah, which has the highest rates of vaccine refusal in Malaysia, cited doubts over their halal status, a survey showed. Malaysia's highest Islamic body, the National Fatwa Council, has ruled vaccination permissible under Islamic law, even allowing vaccines with non-halal components, in the absence of halal alternatives. The council has not yet decided on an edict of mandatory vaccinations for Muslims, Federal Territory Mufti Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri said in an interview. "On the whole, we find that vaccines have been very beneficial to society," Zulkifli added. 'Parents rights' Last Sunday, parents at a vaccination forum on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, the capital, recounted the side effects their children suffered. Parents should have the right to refuse vaccination, said alternative medicine practitioner Arif Faizal, 36. "There is no law compelling mandatory vaccines, and even on the global level, very few countries support such a move," he told Reuters. Others felt vaccinations were essential, however. "As Muslim parents, we have a responsibility to protect our children," said Wan Normaniza Wan Hasan, a teacher and mother of six. (Reuters)

Malaysians rejecting vaccine causes preventable, fatal disease

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