A doctor headed for morning prayers at a Houston mosque was reportedly ambushed by three masked men who shot and wounded him today, a day after a Muslim man was beaten outside a Florida mosque. 
 
The victim of the Texas incident, identified as Dr Arslan Tajammul, an eye specialist, was undergoing surgery and was expected to survive, according to KTRK, an ABC television affiliate. 
 
The doctor had parked his car and was walking to the Madrasah Islamiah mosque when he was ambushed and shot twice at about 5:30am. The three attackers fled on foot, KTRK reported. 
 
The victim was able to toss his cell phone to someone at the entrance to the mosque on Bintliff Drive and DeMoss Drive , in southwest Houston, and ask them to call 911, the TV station said. 
 
Houston police did not immediately respond to a request for information. 
 
The shooting took place a day after a Muslim man was beaten outside a Florida mosque that had been attended by the gunman who killed 49 people at an Orlando nightclub. 
 
The victim in that case was punched in the head and face outside the Fort Pierce Islamic Center just after 4am on Saturday, the St. Lucie County sheriff&#39;s office said. 
 
Taylor Anthony Mazzanti, 25, was arrested in the attack and was charged with felony battery, the sheriff&#39;s office said. 
 
No racially motivated comments were made to the suspect during the incident, said the sheriff&#39;s office, which added the case is under investigation. 
 
The Florida branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), however, said the attacker uttered racially offensive comments including &quot;you Muslims need to get back to your country&quot;, before assaulting the victim. 
 
The Islamic Center&#39;s imam had requested extra security in the wake of last month&#39;s mass shooting by Omar Mateen at the Orlando gay nightclub Pulse. Mateen used to pray at the center. 
 
( Reuters)

Attack comes a day after a Muslim man was beaten outside a Florida mosque that had been attended by Omar Mateen

A doctor headed for morning prayers at a Houston mosque was reportedly ambushed by three masked men who shot and wounded him today, a day after a Muslim man was beaten outside a Florida mosque. The victim of the Texas incident, identified as Dr Arslan Tajammul, an eye specialist, was undergoing surgery and was expected to survive, according to KTRK, an ABC television affiliate. The doctor had parked his car and was walking to the Madrasah Islamiah mosque when he was ambushed and shot twice at about 5:30am. The three attackers fled on foot, KTRK reported. The victim was able to toss his cell phone to someone at the entrance to the mosque on Bintliff Drive and DeMoss Drive , in southwest Houston, and ask them to call 911, the TV station said. Houston police did not immediately respond to a request for information. The shooting took place a day after a Muslim man was beaten outside a Florida mosque that had been attended by the gunman who killed 49 people at an Orlando nightclub. The victim in that case was punched in the head and face outside the Fort Pierce Islamic Center just after 4am on Saturday, the St. Lucie County sheriff's office said. Taylor Anthony Mazzanti, 25, was arrested in the attack and was charged with felony battery, the sheriff's office said. No racially motivated comments were made to the suspect during the incident, said the sheriff's office, which added the case is under investigation. The Florida branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), however, said the attacker uttered racially offensive comments including "you Muslims need to get back to your country", before assaulting the victim. The Islamic Center's imam had requested extra security in the wake of last month's mass shooting by Omar Mateen at the Orlando gay nightclub Pulse. Mateen used to pray at the center. ( Reuters)

Doctor shot by three masked attackers outside Houston mosque

A Muslim policeman who sued the New York City Police Department (NYPD) after he was suspended for refusing to shave his beard has been reinstated and the department has agreed to review its ban on beards, his lawyers said on Thursday. 
 
A judge last week ordered the NYPD to continue paying Officer Masood Syed his salary and benefits after he sued the department, claiming that the no-beard policy was unconstitutional. 
 
&quot;It seems like the department has taken the crucial first step in addressing an important and growing concern of officers of different faiths,&quot; Syed said in a statement.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;I am hopeful that the department&rsquo;s new policy will in fact allow myself and other officers to wear our beards at a reasonable length without the fear of retaliation or hostility,&quot; he said.&nbsp; 
 
NYPD spokesperson could not be reached for a comment.&nbsp; 
 
In a letter sent to the judge and provided to news agencies by Syed&#39;s attorneys, the city&#39;s law department has asked that a hearing scheduled for July 8 in the case be adjourned because the officer had been &quot;restored to full duty&quot; and the two sides were discussing a resolution of the lawsuit. 
 
The NYPD&#39;s written policy is that officers cannot wear beards, but an unwritten policy designed for religious accommodation allows for beards of up to 1 millimetre long, according to the lawsuit. 
 
Syed, a law clerk in the department, has worn a beard of about 1/2 to 1 inch (13 to 25mm) for years for religious reasons. 
 
In December, according to the lawsuit, he was told by supervisors that his beard was too long and ordered to shorten it. When he did not, he was suspended, according to the complaint. 
 
In 2013, a Hasidic Jewish probationary officer won a lawsuit against the department over the same policy.&nbsp; 
 
US district judge Harold Baer ruled in 2013 that the policy violated the First Amendment guarantee of free religious exercise. 
 
The Hasidic officer, Fishel Litzman, was allowed to return to work with a beard of 1 inch length, according to Syed&#39;s lawyer. 
 
(Reuters)

Masood Syed's lawyers say the department has agreed to review its ban on beards

A Muslim policeman who sued the New York City Police Department (NYPD) after he was suspended for refusing to shave his beard has been reinstated and the department has agreed to review its ban on beards, his lawyers said on Thursday. A judge last week ordered the NYPD to continue paying Officer Masood Syed his salary and benefits after he sued the department, claiming that the no-beard policy was unconstitutional. "It seems like the department has taken the crucial first step in addressing an important and growing concern of officers of different faiths," Syed said in a statement. "I am hopeful that the department’s new policy will in fact allow myself and other officers to wear our beards at a reasonable length without the fear of retaliation or hostility," he said. NYPD spokesperson could not be reached for a comment. In a letter sent to the judge and provided to news agencies by Syed's attorneys, the city's law department has asked that a hearing scheduled for July 8 in the case be adjourned because the officer had been "restored to full duty" and the two sides were discussing a resolution of the lawsuit. The NYPD's written policy is that officers cannot wear beards, but an unwritten policy designed for religious accommodation allows for beards of up to 1 millimetre long, according to the lawsuit. Syed, a law clerk in the department, has worn a beard of about 1/2 to 1 inch (13 to 25mm) for years for religious reasons. In December, according to the lawsuit, he was told by supervisors that his beard was too long and ordered to shorten it. When he did not, he was suspended, according to the complaint. In 2013, a Hasidic Jewish probationary officer won a lawsuit against the department over the same policy. US district judge Harold Baer ruled in 2013 that the policy violated the First Amendment guarantee of free religious exercise. The Hasidic officer, Fishel Litzman, was allowed to return to work with a beard of 1 inch length, according to Syed's lawyer. (Reuters)

Muslim officer wins battle of the beard, New York police reinstate him

Militants killed eight police officials and injured 21 when they attacked a security convoy in Jammu &amp; Kashmir on Saturday, a police spokesman said, in an attack claimed by Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). 
 
Two men attacked a convoy of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on a highway near the Pampore town, 15 kilometres (9 miles) from the state capital Srinagar. The militants were killed by CRPF officials who were guarding the highway, police spokesman Bhavesh Kumar Choudhary said. 
 
Dr Abdullah Gaznavi, a spokesman for LeT, told Reuters by phone that the attack was carried out by members of the group&#39;s suicide squad. Gaznavi claimed 13 CRPF police officials were killed in the fighting that lasted for an hour. 
 
In the wake of the attack, Indian&nbsp;home minister Rajnath Singh today clearly accused Pakistan of trying to destabilise India even as he said lapses, if any, in yesterday&#39;s incident&nbsp;will&nbsp;be looked into and status of infiltration ascertained. 
 
A three-member team comprising of Indian&nbsp;home ministry officials will visit Kashmir on Tuesday to find out if there were any lapses involved in the attack in Pampore, the deadliest one on security forces in recent years. 
 
The team will look into the possible increase of cross border Infiltration and practices being followed during the movement of paramilitary forces convoy in Jammu and Kashmir, Indian officials said. 
 
After the attack, the&nbsp;CRPF has moved about half-a-dozen heavy-armoured mine protected vehicles (MPVs) which were earlier used for&nbsp;operations against&nbsp;Left wing extremists, to the&nbsp;Kashmir Valley to effectively secure its troops deployed there. 
 
Violence in Kashmir has spiked against a backdrop of rising social tension and separatist sentiment in the Muslim-majority region, which for decades has been at the centre of a strategic tussle between India and Pakistan. 
 
In May, militants shot dead three policemen at point-blank range. In February, militants attacked a bus carrying police reservists near Srinagar, before breaking into a training institute. 
 
India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars since independence in 1947 over Kashmir, which they both claim in full, but rule in part. 
 
India accuses Pakistan of training and arming the rebels in the portion it controls and sending them to the Indian side, a claim its neighbour denies. 
 
Mehbooba Mufti,&nbsp;chief minister of Indian Kashmir, condemned Saturday&#39;s attack. &quot;The only purpose of such blood-spattered acts of violence is to add to the tragedies and miseries of the people,&quot; she said in a statement. 
 
Observing that such attacks &quot;defame&quot; the state, she highlighted that the strike had been carried out during Ramzan, the holy month when &quot;people should be seeking forgiveness and expiation for past sins&quot; and &quot;making sure not to hurt others.&quot; 
 
(Agencies)

Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba claims responsibility, says strike carried out by organisation's suicide squad

Militants killed eight police officials and injured 21 when they attacked a security convoy in Jammu & Kashmir on Saturday, a police spokesman said, in an attack claimed by Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Two men attacked a convoy of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on a highway near the Pampore town, 15 kilometres (9 miles) from the state capital Srinagar. The militants were killed by CRPF officials who were guarding the highway, police spokesman Bhavesh Kumar Choudhary said. Dr Abdullah Gaznavi, a spokesman for LeT, told Reuters by phone that the attack was carried out by members of the group's suicide squad. Gaznavi claimed 13 CRPF police officials were killed in the fighting that lasted for an hour. In the wake of the attack, Indian home minister Rajnath Singh today clearly accused Pakistan of trying to destabilise India even as he said lapses, if any, in yesterday's incident will be looked into and status of infiltration ascertained. A three-member team comprising of Indian home ministry officials will visit Kashmir on Tuesday to find out if there were any lapses involved in the attack in Pampore, the deadliest one on security forces in recent years. The team will look into the possible increase of cross border Infiltration and practices being followed during the movement of paramilitary forces convoy in Jammu and Kashmir, Indian officials said. After the attack, the CRPF has moved about half-a-dozen heavy-armoured mine protected vehicles (MPVs) which were earlier used for operations against Left wing extremists, to the Kashmir Valley to effectively secure its troops deployed there. Violence in Kashmir has spiked against a backdrop of rising social tension and separatist sentiment in the Muslim-majority region, which for decades has been at the centre of a strategic tussle between India and Pakistan. In May, militants shot dead three policemen at point-blank range. In February, militants attacked a bus carrying police reservists near Srinagar, before breaking into a training institute. India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars since independence in 1947 over Kashmir, which they both claim in full, but rule in part. India accuses Pakistan of training and arming the rebels in the portion it controls and sending them to the Indian side, a claim its neighbour denies. Mehbooba Mufti, chief minister of Indian Kashmir, condemned Saturday's attack. "The only purpose of such blood-spattered acts of violence is to add to the tragedies and miseries of the people," she said in a statement. Observing that such attacks "defame" the state, she highlighted that the strike had been carried out during Ramzan, the holy month when "people should be seeking forgiveness and expiation for past sins" and "making sure not to hurt others." (Agencies)

Eight police officials killed, 21 wounded in militant attack in Indian Kashmir

A teenage suspected Islamist militant being held in custody in Bangladesh was shot dead on Saturday&nbsp;in a gunfight, police said, days after he allegedly hacked and critically wounded a Hindu lecturer. 
 
Golam Faizullah Fahim, 19, who was in custody for questioning, was killed when officers came under attack in a farmland area after taking him to a river in search of his Islamist associates. 
 
&quot;Miscreants fired at the police van as we came near a jute farm. A gunfight ensued. After the gunfight we saw Fahim was shot and wounded. He died after we brought him to a hospital,&quot; Sarwar Hossain, police chief of Madaripur where the shooting took place, told AFP. 
 
Locals in Madaripur caught Fahim&nbsp;on Wednesday&nbsp;after he and two other suspected Islamists attacked and wounded 50-year-old mathematics lecturer Ripon Chakrabarti, a Hindu, police said. 
 
The attack was the latest in a wave of brutal assaults on secular activists, writers and religious minorities by suspected Islamist militants. 
 
Police later told reporters Fahim was a college student and was a member of banned Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir. 
 
Hizb ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation) is an international group which wants to combine all Muslim countries in a unitary Islamic state. The group is outlawed in several countries, including Bangladesh. 
 
Six suspected Islamist militants have now been shot dead since Bangladesh launched a nationwide crackdown on local jihadist groups in the wake of a spike in murders of secular activists and religious minorities. 
 
The drive has seen more than 11,000 people including 194 militants arrested over the past week despite widespread criticism by local and international human rights groups. 
 
Rights activists also questioned the incidents of deaths in police custody, saying the militants were shot dead in &quot;cold blood&quot; in encounters staged by officers. 
 
Nearly 50 people have been killed over the last three years in a wave of gruesome murders targeting Hindus, Christians, Sufi Muslims, secular activists and foreigners, with most blamed on or claimed by Islamist militants. 
 
Many of the victims were hacked to death with machetes. 
 
This month alone, an elderly Hindu priest was found nearly decapitated in a rice field and a Hindu monastery worker was hacked to death, while a Christian grocer was found murdered near a church. 
 
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the Hindu priest&#39;s murder and other recent attacks. 
 
But authorities instead blame homegrown militant groups and say international groups IS and Al-Qaeda have no presence in Bangladesh. 
 
Although it is officially secular, around 90 per cent of Bangladesh&#39;s 160 million-strong population is Muslim. Some eight per cent of the population is Hindu. 
(AFP)

Teen was in police custody. Was killed when officers taking him to search for his associates came under attack

A teenage suspected Islamist militant being held in custody in Bangladesh was shot dead on Saturday in a gunfight, police said, days after he allegedly hacked and critically wounded a Hindu lecturer. Golam Faizullah Fahim, 19, who was in custody for questioning, was killed when officers came under attack in a farmland area after taking him to a river in search of his Islamist associates. "Miscreants fired at the police van as we came near a jute farm. A gunfight ensued. After the gunfight we saw Fahim was shot and wounded. He died after we brought him to a hospital," Sarwar Hossain, police chief of Madaripur where the shooting took place, told AFP. Locals in Madaripur caught Fahim on Wednesday after he and two other suspected Islamists attacked and wounded 50-year-old mathematics lecturer Ripon Chakrabarti, a Hindu, police said. The attack was the latest in a wave of brutal assaults on secular activists, writers and religious minorities by suspected Islamist militants. Police later told reporters Fahim was a college student and was a member of banned Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir. Hizb ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation) is an international group which wants to combine all Muslim countries in a unitary Islamic state. The group is outlawed in several countries, including Bangladesh. Six suspected Islamist militants have now been shot dead since Bangladesh launched a nationwide crackdown on local jihadist groups in the wake of a spike in murders of secular activists and religious minorities. The drive has seen more than 11,000 people including 194 militants arrested over the past week despite widespread criticism by local and international human rights groups. Rights activists also questioned the incidents of deaths in police custody, saying the militants were shot dead in "cold blood" in encounters staged by officers. Nearly 50 people have been killed over the last three years in a wave of gruesome murders targeting Hindus, Christians, Sufi Muslims, secular activists and foreigners, with most blamed on or claimed by Islamist militants. Many of the victims were hacked to death with machetes. This month alone, an elderly Hindu priest was found nearly decapitated in a rice field and a Hindu monastery worker was hacked to death, while a Christian grocer was found murdered near a church. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the Hindu priest's murder and other recent attacks. But authorities instead blame homegrown militant groups and say international groups IS and Al-Qaeda have no presence in Bangladesh. Although it is officially secular, around 90 per cent of Bangladesh's 160 million-strong population is Muslim. Some eight per cent of the population is Hindu. (AFP)

Teenage 'Islamist' shot dead in Bangladesh, had attacked Hindu lecturer few days earlier

Saudi Arabia sentenced 14 people to death for terrorism today&nbsp;after they were convicted of attacks on police in the Shi&#39;ite Muslim minority area of Qatif in Eastern Province, scene of past anti-government protests, their lawyer said.

Another nine people were given jail sentences of three to 15 years and one was acquitted, their defence lawyer, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters.

He said the 24 defendants had been held for about three years and accused of carrying weapons and shooting at police. During 2011-14 protests, around 20 Shi&#39;ites and several police officers were killed.

A spokesman for the Saudi justice ministry could not immediately be reached for a comment on the report, first broadcast by the Dubai-based al-Arabiya TV.

Some Saudi Shi&#39;ites complain they suffer systematic discrimination in Saudi Arabia, whose majority follow a strict form of Sunni Islam that regards the minority sect as heretical. The government denies that.

On January 2 Saudi Arabia executed four Shi&#39;ites convicted of similar crimes alongside 43 Sunnis accused of carrying out attacks for al Qaeda a decade ago.

The execution of the Shi&#39;ites, including a prominent cleric, by Sunni-led Saudi Arabia pushed up tensions with its main regional rival Iran and contributed to rising sectarian anger in some neighbouring countries.

International human rights groups have criticised Saudi Arabia&#39;s justice system, which they say holds unfair trials, and have said that convictions for terrorism sometimes extend to peaceful protesters and are secured by torture.

Saudi Arabia denies this, saying its judiciary is independent and that it does not practice torture. It says it does not differentiate between Sunnis and Shi&#39;ites accused of politically motivated attacks on other citizens or the security forces.

Saudi Arabia sentence 14 people to death for attacking police in the Shi'ite Muslim minority area of Qatif.

Saudi Arabia sentenced 14 people to death for terrorism today after they were convicted of attacks on police in the Shi'ite Muslim minority area of Qatif in Eastern Province, scene of past anti-government protests, their lawyer said. Another nine people were given jail sentences of three to 15 years and one was acquitted, their defence lawyer, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters. He said the 24 defendants had been held for about three years and accused of carrying weapons and shooting at police. During 2011-14 protests, around 20 Shi'ites and several police officers were killed. A spokesman for the Saudi justice ministry could not immediately be reached for a comment on the report, first broadcast by the Dubai-based al-Arabiya TV. Some Saudi Shi'ites complain they suffer systematic discrimination in Saudi Arabia, whose majority follow a strict form of Sunni Islam that regards the minority sect as heretical. The government denies that. On January 2 Saudi Arabia executed four Shi'ites convicted of similar crimes alongside 43 Sunnis accused of carrying out attacks for al Qaeda a decade ago. The execution of the Shi'ites, including a prominent cleric, by Sunni-led Saudi Arabia pushed up tensions with its main regional rival Iran and contributed to rising sectarian anger in some neighbouring countries. International human rights groups have criticised Saudi Arabia's justice system, which they say holds unfair trials, and have said that convictions for terrorism sometimes extend to peaceful protesters and are secured by torture. Saudi Arabia denies this, saying its judiciary is independent and that it does not practice torture. It says it does not differentiate between Sunnis and Shi'ites accused of politically motivated attacks on other citizens or the security forces.

Saudi Arabia sentences 14 to death for terrorism

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