7 c O N T I N U E D / l o c a l Young Muslim heroes hailed for helping victims during Vienna attack Rabi ul Awaal 19,1442 Nov 6, 2020
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Two young Austrians of Turkish origin have been hailed for their courage following Monday’s gun attack in the capital Vienna, after footage of them intervening to aid wounded people including a policeman spread across social media. A video shot from a nearby building shows the pair running to a metro station exit and helping panicked passers-by to take cover — as gunshots were still echoing down the street. On Tuesday, the interior ministry confirmed, without naming the two friends, that they had helped during the attack late Monday by a radicalised young man from North Macedonia. The assailant killed four people before being shot dead by police. A young Palestinian man was also praised as a hero for assisting an injured police officer. Mikail Ozen and Recep Tayyip Gultekin, both Austrian citizens from
Turkish backgrounds, had planned to “drink a last coffee” together at bustling Schwedenplatz before the country’s coronavirus lockdown came into effect, they said in a video posted online immediately after the attack. The first shots could be heard even as they arrived at the busy square by the river to find “people lying on the ground covered in blood”, Ozen recalled.They went to help a panicked older woman who was looking for a place to hide — only to see a wounded policeman lying on the ground. “We couldn’t act as if we hadn’t seen him,” Ozen said. “We ran and carried him to the ambulance” by supporting him under his shoulders as the gunfire continued. The policeman was given first aid by a Palestinian man, Osama Joda, a BBC report said. Joda, 23, was working at a nearby McDonalds when the attacker opened fire on passers-by.
One of the police officers who arrived at the scene was also shot. “I pulled him behind the concrete bench and tried to stop the bleeding,” Joda told local newspaper Kurier. “There was blood everywhere.” The perpetrator fled after more police personnel arrived, and Joda then helped drag the officer to a nearby ambulance with help from Ozen and Gultekin. Gultekin was also shot in the leg and suffered a minor injury while aiding the elderly woman and carrying her to a restaurant. The two semi-professional martial artists issued an appeal for unity between “Jews, Christians and Muslims” that was picked up by many Austrian media outlets. “We’re Muslims of Turkish origin, we hate any kind of terrorism. We’re with Austria, with Vienna, we respect Austria,” they said into
Surrey, BC – $16.3 million in funding for new permanent affordable housing has been earmarked for the City of Surrey. The injection of money is a result of the federal government’s Rapid Housing Initiative and will create a minimum of 33 units of new permanent affordable housing in Surrey. “In order to affect real change in affordable housing, senior levels of government have to step up and partner with municipalities on this front,” said Mayor Doug McCallum. “That is exactly what the federal government has done with the Rapid Housing Initiative. The projects that will be created by this funding will not only help alleviate
some of the pressing needs surrounding affordable housing now, but it will be of great value in positioning us for the future. As one of the fastest growing cities in the country, I am very pleased that Surrey has been identified to receive federal funding from this very worthwhile housing initiative.” The Rapid Housing Initiative is delivered through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and the funds can go to cover the construction of modular housing, the purchase of land and the conversion of existing buildings to affordable housing. “I would like to thank the federal government for stepping up to fund such an im-
portant initiative,” said Cllr Laurie Guerra, Board Chair of the Surrey Homelessness and Housing Society. “This program is indicative of the partnerships we need at every level of government to help solve the affordable housing issue that we face in the Lower Mainland.” City staff will begin work on an investment plan to outline the proposed capital projects. Upon approval of the plan, construction will be completed within 12 months of the finalization of the funding agreement. Source.globalnews.ca
popular works in the Islamic world. These books usually start with the creation of the world, then the story of Adam and Eve, the story of their children Cain and Abel and the story of Noah. They continue with the stories of Abraham and the Israelites, the Arabian prophets Hud and Salih, then the stories of David, Solomon and Balaam and Jonah are also told before usually ending with the story of Jesus. Thus all human history before the coming of Muhammad is understood as the story
of the prophets that God sent to humanity. The British Library has a large number of these books, which are often called ‘Lives of the Prophets’. As Islam spread out beyond the Arabian Peninsula, the stories of the prophets gained popularity. The familiarity of figures from other monotheistic religions and belief systems allowed for these stories to be integrated rapidly into local cultures. As such they have been written in every language that Muslims use, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Swahili, Malay, Urdu and many oth-
ers. They continue to be retold and remain popular stories. Source: bl.uk/sacred-texts Walid A. Saleh is a Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Toronto. He is a specialists on the Qur’an and the history of Qur’anic commentary tradition. His first book was on the Qur’an commentary of al-Tha`labi (d. 1035) and his second monography was on the reception of the Bible in Islam. He is working now on an introduction to the Qur’an commentary tradition.
riving for the opening of an Iranian book fair organised on campus. President Ashraf Ghani called the attack “despicable act of terror” and announced a national day of mourning to honour the victims. Witnesses said hundreds of people were sent fleeing and scrambling over walls of the campus when the attack took place. “Sadly 19 people have been killed and 22 more wounded,” Interior Ministry spokesperson Tariq Arian told AFP. “Three attackers were involved. One of them blew up his explosives at the beginning, two were
brought down by the security forces.” Kabul police spokesman Ferdaws Faramerz told AFP most of those killed were students. Afghan media reported the book exhibition was being attended by several dignitaries at the time of the shooting. Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency reported on Sunday that Iranian Ambassador Bahador Aminian and cultural attache Mojtaba Noroozi were scheduled to inaugurate the fair, which was to host some 40 Iranian publishers Source. aljazeera.com
the camera lens.Turkish media reported that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had called the pair to congratulate them. The two young men were also invited to the Turkish embassy in Vienna where Turkey’s ambassador to Austria Ozan Ceyhun praised their conduct, according to the BBC. Source.dawn.com
$16 million in federal funding for affordable housing allocated to Surrey
Prophecy and revelation in Islam
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‘Act of terror’: At least 22 killed in Kabul University attack Continued from Page 1
AFP news agency he was in class when gunfire broke out. “We were very scared and we thought it could be the last day of our lives… boys and girls were shouting, praying and crying for help,” Ahmadi said, adding that he and other students were besieged for more than two hours before being rescued. Hamid Obaidi, spokesman for the Ministry of Higher Education, told AFP the attack started when government officials were ar-
Coronavirus infections over 48 million worldwide Coronavirus Cases:
Deaths:
Recovered:
30,634,165
41,054,072
1,129,795
Coronavirus Cases:
Deaths:
Recovered:
Coronavirus Cases:
Deaths:
Recovered:
247,703 16,135
10,331 273
205,647 12,659
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