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21 March 2013

The World News Headlines Pork found in school meals

This Week Syria rebels elect leader

Syria’s opposition National Coalition has elected Ghassan Hitto, a communications executive who has been resident in the United States for decades, as prime minister for rebel-held areas of Syria. Hitto won a vote held in Istanbul by the group, getting 35 out of a possible 48 votes, Coalition member Hisham Marwa told reporters early on Tuesday.

uslim leaders in east London have expressed concern after the discovery of pork DNA in Halal sausages served in a primary school in Westminster. In a statement released last week the East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre, based in Whitechapel Road, said they were “deeply concerned” by the findings. Under Islamic law, Muslims are forbidden from eating pork. “As consumption of pork or meat that has not been slaughtered in accordance with their faith is strictly prohibited, there will be serious issues of concern and mistrust between Muslim parents and schools across London”, the statement read. “We hope a resolution can be sought quickly and effectively as possible.” The statement continued by emphasizing the need for a “rigorous and transparent” investigation. Halal meat is served in schools across Tower Hamlets. A spokesperson for the borough’s council said it had investigated the meat served in its schools to ensure it is free from horse meat or pork. He added: “We will continue to closely monitor the situation and take whatever action is necessary to ensure that the food served in our schools is the best it can be.”

Kurd leader to end war

At least 56 people dead and hundreds wounded, as cabinet postpones local elections in two provinces over security fears

Explosions in Baghdad on anniversary of invasion

lmost ten years to the day after Western powers attacked Iraq to grab its oil, numerous car bombs and roadside blasts have killed at least 56 people and hundreds injured in Shia districts across the Iraqi capital Baghdad. Security forces stepped up searches at checkpoints after the attack on Tuesday, closing off key roads and worsening the capital’s morning gridlock, a reporter for the AFP news agency said. Along with 56 killed, over 200 people were wounded in the attacks, officials said on Tuesday. Ten car bombs, including two detonated by sui-

cide bombers, one roadside bomb and two gun attacks struck in and around the Iraqi capital during the morning rush hour on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the US-led invasion. Sunni fighters tied to al-Qaeda have stepped up their campaign of attacks this year in an attempt to trigger sectarian tensions and undermine Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s Shia-led government.

There was no immediate claim of responsibilty for the blasts. The attacks cames as the cabinet announced on Tuesday that it would postpone provincial elections in two provinces that were scheduled for April by up to six months over security concerns. Polls in Anbar province in west Iraq and Nineveh in the north have been delayed, Ali Mussawi, the Iraqi

While violence in Iraq has decreased from its peak in 2006 and 2007, attacks remain common, killing 220 people in February

premier’s spokesman said. Mussawi said that candidates had been threatened and killed, while there were also requests for a delay from the two provinces. Several provincial elections candidates have also been killed in attacks in recent weeks. It appeared that elections in the 12 other provinces where they were set to be held on April 20 would go ahead as scheduled. While violence in Iraq has decreased from its peak in 2006 and 2007, attacks remain common, killing 220 people in February, according to an AFP tally based on security and medical sources.

Jamaat leader condemns ongoing torture of Islamic scholars

he Secretary-General of the Jamaat-e-Islami (Islamic Group) in Bangladesh has issued a statement strongly condemning and denouncing the brutal physical and mental torture suffered by the group’s Assistant Secretary-General Mohamed Salim-Eddin in jail in the name of investigations by the

government against symbols of political Islam under the specter of death for purely political and fabricated charges. The statement pointed that the Criminal Court issued a warrant for Salim-Eddin’s arrest on charges of contempt of court. He was then promptly arrested. The court accepted a request for his release on bail. But

immediately the police arrested him again on additional charges, and detained him for seven days pending investigations. The statement further pointed that Mohamed Salim-Eddin was subjected to the worst and most excruciating forms of torture at the hands of the police, resulting in permanent injuries in parts of his body. His health

deteriorated very seriously, which may lead to his death. In the statement, the Jamaate-Islami said: “This persecution and brutal treatment of leaders and political opposition figures, and the brutal torture of Mohamed Salim-Eddin, is only part of the government scheme to physically liquidate them”. The statement called on

international human rights organizations to condemn the barbaric practices taking place in the name of ongoing investigations in Bangladesh. Moreover, the statement said: “The government must release all political prisoners, including Salim-Eddin. It must bear full responsibility for any harm that may befall him, God forbid”.

Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, longtime rebels in Turkey, has announced he will make a “historic” call on Thursday, raising expectations of an end to a nearly 30-year-old conflict which has claimed some 40,000 lives. In a statement relayed to Selahattin Demirtas, the leader of the Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, Ocalan said he would make the announcement to coincide with Kurdish New Year celebrations.

UN slams US drone strikes

The United States has violated Pakistan’s sovereignty and destroyed tribal structures with unmanned aerial drone strikes in its counterterrorism near the Afghan border, a UN human rights investigator has said. “As a matter of international law, the US drone campaign in Pakistan is ... being conducted without the consent of the elected representatives of the people, or the legitimate Government of the State,” said Ben Emmerson, the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism.

Karzai puts US in ‘danger’

Statements by Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, have put US forces in danger, the top US general in the Afghanistan has said. General Joseph Dunford’s warning came on Thursday after Karzai said at a public appearance on March 11 that the Taliban and US continue to hold talks in Qatar, despite rhetoric to the contrary.

Arrests made after rape

Authorities in India have arrested six men suspected of taking part in the gang-rape of a Swiss woman in Madhya Pradesh state. The victim, 39, and her husband were touring the Datia district by bicycle.

21 March 2013

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News This Week Man held over Pearl killing

Pakistani officials have arrested a suspect in connection with the gruesome 2002 beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Qari Abdul Hayee is believed to be the one who facilitated Pearl’s kidnapping, a senior Pakistani official said. Pearl was kidnapped while researching a story in Karachi about Pakistani militants and the so-called “shoe bomber” Richard Reid. He was later decapitated, and a video of his killing was sent to US officials.

Turkey orders 351 A320s

Airbus has signed two deals totaling a whopping 351 A320 family aircraft with Turkish Airlines and Indonesian budget carrier Lion Air. The European airline placed orders for up to 117 aircraft while Lion Air inked a deal for 234 planes. The order from Lion Air, announced Monday, is valued at $24 billion and is its first with Airbus. It follows an order in late 2011 when the relatively unknown budget airline (it took to the skies in 2000) completed the largest single aviation purchase in Boeing’s history, ordering 230 planes.

North Korea ‘attacks’ US

A new North Korean propaganda video shows images of what appears to be an imagined missile attack on US government buildings in Washington, including the White House and the Capitol. The roughly 4-minute video was posted Monday on the YouTube channel of the North Korean government website Uriminzokkiri.

India, Italy diplomatic row

A diplomatic showdown between Italy and India is escalating, with Rome saying that an Indian court order forbidding the Italian ambassador from leaving the South Asian country breaches international law. The dispute centers on Italy’s refusal to send back two of its marines who are due to face trial in India over accusations they killed two Indian fishermen last year.

FBI ‘knows’ $500m art thief

The FBI said it believes it knows who was behind one of the most significant art heists in the United States – the 1990 theft of 13 precious works, once valued at $500 million, from Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

Many prominent local figures were present at Mayor Lutfur Rahman’s Whitechapel Vision launch last week. Part of the plan is to attract new investors to the area

Mayor shares vision to attract investment to Whitechapel

amed for its colourful history and cultural buzz, Whitechapel is about to embark on an unprecedented transformation Last night (11 March 2013), Mayor Lutfur Rahman launched ‘Whitechapel Vision’ – an exciting project that will build on these changes and local aspirations to take this famous part of the City’s borders into the future, with residents at the heart of the plans Working with international and award-winning urban design practice BDP, Tower Hamlets Council will kick-start this project by producing a new master plan for Whitechapel.

Produced in consultation with local residents and key stakeholders in the area, the masterplan will help develop Whitechapel as a new and vibrant area for London that will not only retain existing business and the bustling market, but attract new investors. Over the coming months, BDP will be inviting local stakeholders – residents, businesses, the local hospital and university, places of worship, housing

providers and landowners – to share their ideas and aspirations for the area, so that all bodies work collaboratively to produce a cohesive and deliverable master plan for the area. Mayor Lutfur Rahman the driving force behind the project, said: “Whitechapel Vision is about initiating change for the benefit of residents, businesses, and visitors in the area. “We’re really excited that the arrival of Crossrail will

‘This project will help us elevate Whitechapel, bring in investment and showcase what the area has to offer the rest of London and beyond’

mean Whitechapel is better connected to stations like Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road, and more accessible to counties further afield. “This project will help us elevate Whitechapel, bring in investment and showcase what the area has to offer the rest of London, and beyond.” BDP was selected following a competitive tender process which attracted submissions from a number of the country’s leading architectural and urban design practices. It was chosen on the basis of its excellent experience and international reputation, and success in delivering similar

masterplan projects, including for the Liverpool One scheme. Nick Edwards, Urbanism Director at BDP, said: “We are extremely privileged to have been selected to work with the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, the local community and other stakeholders to deliver a new vision for Whitechapel. “Due to our continuing work on Whitechapel’s much anticipated Crossrail station, we already have a close connection with the area and look forward to utilising our extensive experience of delivering similar successful urban regeneration projects to help unlock Whitechapel’s potential.”

Iranian and Qatari filmmakers plan biopics about Prophet

here are controversial subjects, and then there is Mohamed. Yet the fear of controversy appears not to have deterred film-makers in Iran and Qatar, who are producing a pair of rival biopics of the seventh-century Prophet of Islam. As a protagonist, the Prophet poses a unique challenge: much of the Muslim world forbids his depiction on screen. The Iranian director Majid Majidi, whose $30m (£19.8m) biopic began shooting last October, reportedly intends to show parts of the Prophet’s body, though not his face. While Iran’s Shia population may be flexible about such imagery, Sunni

Muslims elsewhere are not. Cairo’s Sunni-led al-Azhar University has already demanded the unfinished film be banned. In December, in Sunni-majority Qatar, Alnoor Holdings, the media arm of al-Hashemi construction group, announced plans to spend $1bn on its own series of epic movies about the life of Mohamed. The team has

hired the Islamic theologian Yusuf al-Qaradawi and Lord of the Rings producer Barrie Osborne as technical advisers. “They are being understandably very cautious,” Mr Osborne told The Hollywood Reporter. And so they should be. Last September, when clips from a low-budget US-made film about Mohamed surfaced on YouTube, there were angry protests across the Muslim world. Innocence of Muslims portrayed the Prophet in a negative light, yet even positive depictions have proved divisive. In 1977, the Syrian-American producer Moustapha Akkad was forced to go to the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi to gather

funding for his Mohamed biopic The Message, after Americans backed away from the project. Akkad hired several Islamic clerics as advisers, and Mohamed was not depicted on screen, nor was his voice heard. Yet when rumours surfaced before its release that the film’s star Anthony Quinn (pictured) was to play the Prophet, there were repercussions: in 1977 an armed group of radicals took 149 hostages in Washington DC, killing a journalist and a police officer. They cited the film among their grievances. Since its release, however, The Message has become popular among Muslim audi-

ences as a respectful depiction of Islam’s early history, and its existence may allay the concerns of Muslims about similar projects. According to Shakeel Syed, the executive director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, The Message is “very well-liked” among Muslims. Rather than portray Mohamed, the camera often shows his point of view. “The Message keeps in mind the extreme sensitivity of Muslims in reference to any images of the Prophet,” said Mr Syed. “I would imagine that, if done well, the films will increase interest and knowledge among non-Muslim audiences.”

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21 March 2013

News Start-up loans help more than 2,000 young entrepreneurs

he Start-Up loan scheme has exceeded expectations as 2,000 aspirational young entrepreneurs have now received support to help get their business venture off the ground, in a boost to growth and the UK’s efforts to get ahead in the global race. The Start-Up Loans Company, which administers the scheme and is chaired by Dragon’s Den entrepreneur James Caan, has helped to start 1,000 new businesses in the last month alone. The success of the Start-Up loan scheme, which helps young people get their business ideas off the ground with a loan of typically around £4,500 and mentoring support, demonstrates the strong demand amongst 18-30 year olds for self-employment. The scheme has already reached its £10m pilot spend following high demand, and an immediate £5.5m injection of funding was approved yesterday in Parliament to fulfil its pipeline of young businesses until the end of the month. The Government has made £117.5m available to fund the StartUp Loans scheme up to 2015. Prime Minister David Cameron said: “Start-Up loans are now helping thousands of aspiring young entrepreneurs get the finance and support to strike out on their own and launch their

James Caan, far right, during his time on the popular television programme Dragons’ Den own business. The success of this scheme shows that young people have got the ideas, the ambition and sheer commitment to get ahead – and it is by backing them, and backing their aspirations that we will be able to compete and thrive in the global race.” Budding entrepreneur and mother of two, Alissa Koopal, 26 from Liverpool has used her loan to help launch her company, Izzy Melody, which produces inno-

vative, eco-friendly baby products manufactured in the UK. “After making the difficult decision to take the plunge and make my business concept a reality, my loan application was rejected by the bank so didn’t think I’d ever be able to establish Izzy Melody.” Alissa was introduced to the Start-Up Loans scheme by her Delivery Partner, Merseyside Investment Fund. “Within six

‘I am very proud of what we have achieved thus far. We have built a fantastic team that is committed to the success of Start-Up Loans’

days of applying for a Start-Up Loan, I was granted the £2,500 I really needed to launch my business and assigned a mentor who has provided me with vital guidance and support”. Start-Up Loans is not just proving to be popular with budding entrepreneurs. His Royal Highness, the Duke of York, has demonstrated his support for the scheme by hosting an event at Buckingham Palace in February to launch the schemes Student Ambassador Programme. Renowned entrepreneur Elle McPherson has also backed the scheme and described Start-Up Loans as “an inspiring initiative

to support up and coming business men and women” and has encouraged people to embrace their entrepreneurial spirit. Business Minister Michael Fallon said: “Start-up Loans are firing up thousands of aspiring young entrepreneurs business ideas. This scheme is really motoring and its high demand and popularity shows no sign of abating. This is about encouraging and unlocking the great entrepreneurial spirit we have in the UK.” Chairman James Caan said: “Whilst we are well ahead of our target numbers, I believe that we are only scratching the surface. 2000 young, ambitious and highly motivated people have taken their future into their own hands. At the moment 40 people a day are choosing to start their own business thanks to Start-Up Loans. “I am very proud of what we have achieved thus far. We have built a fantastic team that is committed to the success of Start-Up Loans. As an entrepreneur myself who has built businesses, I am very conscious that maintaining our own costs when we are spending money on behalf of the country is absolutely vital in the current economic environment. Using our own entrepreneurial approach, I’m pleased to see that we have come in under budget for expenditure.”

Boxing night held in Tower Hamlets Hunger campaign IF keeps

he United Kingdom Boxing Union (UKBU) held their eagerly awaited “No Fear, No Mercy” boxing night in Tower Hamlets, east London. The March 2013 event played host to some of the biggest ex professionals and amateurs past and present, all clubbing together to make the glittering event a success. Boxers on the night included Mohammed Badawi, Zoheb Zee Zee, and Rocky Amin. Councillor Rajib Ahmed, Tower Hamlets Speaker and First Citizen was ringside. He said: “I have enjoyed an evening of entertainment. The fitness

levels and power shown by the boxers has been impressive and I congratulate Walid Ali, Abdul Mukit and the whole team for the manner in which they have organised such a great evening. I wish them greater success and look forward to more nights of boxing being

hosted within our borough.” Promoter Walid Ali is a former WSO & UKUB British Champion. He first donned Boxing gloves aged 14 and learnt his trade at the world famous Repton Boxing Gym under the tutelage of legendary head coach Tony Burns. Walid has also coached at Repton and is now in charge of Walid Ali promotions, as well as being the Head of UKBU. He said: “The United Kingdom Boxing Union is overwhelmed with the support from Lutfur Rahman, the Mayor of Tower Hamlets and local councillors, all of whom have attended past events.

up pressure on government

en million of the poorest people in Africa could be living free from poverty today, IF the proportion of aid spending on agriculture had remained at levels of the 1980s, according to new research by Enough Food for Everyone IF. The coalition of 170 charities, which is demanding action on hunger by the UK Government and the G8, outlines the deadly trend: Investment in agriculture in poor countries has plummeted from 17% of the global aid budget in the 80’s to less than 4% in 2011. That same year, the

UK spent just 1.9% of aid on agriculture despite the fact that two million children die from malnutrition every year. The campaign is calling on the Government to use the aid increase expected in the Budget to boost investment in agriculture and nutrition to tackle the scandal, which sees nearly 900 million people – one in eight of the world’s population go hungry. It also wants action to help developing countries collect tax from multinational companies, which could cover the costs of addressing malnutrition.

This Week Inflation creeps up to 2.8%

UK consumer price inflation rose to 2.8% in February, thanks to in part to rising energy prices, according to official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Other upward price pressures came from recreational goods, such as cameras and computer games, the ONS said.

Cyprus makes offer to savers

A new proposal from the Cyprus finance ministry says bank depositors with savings of 20,000 euros (£17,000) or less would be exempt from a levy. Amounts between 20,000 and 100,000 euros would face a 6.75% tax. The levy on savings above 100,000 would remain at 9.9%. The levy has enraged Cypriots.

Papers consider new deal

A number of national newspapers are taking “high-level legal advice” about whether to co-operate with a new press watchdog established by royal charter and backed by legislation. The publishers of the Daily Mail, the Sun, the Times, the Telegraph, the Daily Star and the Daily Express said they would wait to make a decision.

Blair defends attack on Iraq

Iraqis would have rebelled against Saddam Hussein if there had been no invasion and it would have been “a lot worse than Syria”, Tony Blair said. Iraqis previously “rose up in large numbers and were killed in very large numbers”, the former PM said. Asked if he had regrets, he said: “How can you regret removing a monster who created enormous carnage.”

Owen retires from football

Former England striker Michael Owen is to retire from football at the end of the season. Owen, 33, who scored 40 goals in 89 internationals, played for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United and Manchester United and is now at Stoke.

Rio not in England squad

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has withdrawn from England’s squad for their World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Montenegro. The decision was taken following a meeting on Sunday with Ferdinand, 34, and England boss Roy Hodgson.

21 March 2013

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Features

Dilwar Hussein Sayeedi

Abdul Quader Mollah

Ghulam Azam

Motiur Rahman Nizami

In the line of fire By Amina Begum Muslim Matters

rotests broke out across Bangladesh in recent weeks following the conviction of Allama Delwar Hossain Sayedee, deputy Amir of the opposition Bangladesh Jamaat-i-Islami (Jamaat) party and a hugely popular scholar of Qurān among Bangladeshis. Allama Sayedee was convicted by the deeply flawed Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal (ICT). He is one of several elderly religious scholars and political leaders of the Jamaat standing trial at the ICT. This includes the party’s 90-year-old retired leader, Prof Ghulam Azam, whose case follows Allama Sayedee’s. Allama Sayedee’s supporters took to the streets following the announcement of what they felt to be the political conviction of an innocent man. While the tribunal was set up by the government proclaiming to seek justice for crimes committed during the 1971 War of Independence from present day Pakistan, none of the key perpetrators of attacks against the Bengalis from the Pakistan Army are in the dock. Instead the entire senior leadership of the Jamaat as well as key leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the largest opposition party, are being tried, sparking accusations that the tribunal is in fact a political show trial to weaken the opposition. Jamaat is a political party that participates in democratic processes and draws its ideology from Islamic principles. During the 1971 war they were opposed to the partition of then East Pakistan and West Pakistan. However, they maintain their opposition was political and that they did not participate in military crimes against their fellow men. Jamaat supports trials and justice for victims of the 1971 war, but insists it must be fair. The current proceedings are anything but fair. International bodies from the UN to Human Rights Watch, have criticized the tribunal’s failure to ensure due process, impartiality, fairness and observance of standards of international law. The Economist exposed a leaked cache of correspondence that showed improper collusion between the presiding judge, government officials, prosecution and a Brussels based lawyer who is a known campaigner against the accused. This exposé led to the resignation of the chief judge, yet the tribunal merely appointed a new judge and continued undeterred. In Allama Sayedee’s case none of the three presiding judges had heard all the evidence, while a key prosecution-witness-turned-defensewitness was allegedly abducted by police at the court gates on the day he arrived to testify and has not been seen since. These are just a few examples of the extraordinary irregularities of this marred trial. The protesters against Allama Sayedee’s conviction have been met with a violent state crackdown that has left well over a hundred dead. February 28th alone saw at least 66 people killed from live fire by security forces. Rights group, Odhikar, has since called on the Home Minister to resign, holding him responsible for what they have called “one of the most heinous killing sprees in the history of Bangladesh since independence.” Eight policemen have also been killed amidst the unrest since Feb 28. These protests, while the bloodiest, are not the first and are an el-

ement of wider unrest that has gripped the nation. Allama Sayedee’s verdict was the third following that of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, who was tried, convicted and sentenced to death in absentia, provoking concern from both the US and UK. The second verdict was against Jamaat Assistant Secretary General, Abdul Quader Molla, who was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Molla’s case, like that of the others, was rife with irregularities, and drew protesters to the street, yet this was given little attention. Attention was instead given to a protest that sprang in Dhaka’s Shahbag crossing, supported by the ruling Awami League government, which demanded the execution of not only Molla but all those accused, even as trials are ongoing. The government took the opportunity to swiftly alter the law, post-trial, to allow prosecutors to appeal verdicts, a move decried by Amnesty and Human Rights Watch. The Prime Minister made the unprecedented improper call to the ICT judges to pay heed to people’s sentiments when issuing verdicts. Meanwhile, defense witnesses have been too intimidated by the protests and government to appear at court, a case particularly true for defendant Prof Ghulam Azam. Soon the Shahbag demands extended to calls for banning Jamaati-Islami itself, and all its institutions including banks, hospitals and media. They also began a call for secular politics, decrying the ‘threat’ of Jamaat’s Islamism, despite the fact that the Islamists garner a mere 5% at the ballot and a secular government currently sits in power. With the ICT targeting of some of the nation’s leading Islamic scholars and political leaders, and the government-backed Shahbag calls for banning Islamically inspired politics, many have raised the question as to whether Islam itself is under attack in Bangladesh. Given the facts on the ground, it is not unreasonable to be tempted by that assessment. The current government prides itself on its commitment to secularism, and its application of this philosophy has proven extreme in spite of their pluralistic rhetoric. This regime has overseen the sustained suppression of the Islamist party Jamaat in the form of arrests, custodial torture and harassment. Women have not been spared either; 20 female Jamaat student activists were arrested without charge and imprisoned for weeks at the end of 2012. Those detained included a five-month pregnant young lady who was denied bail with the rest and imprisoned. These women were forcibly unveiled and faced violence during questioning, including being dragged by the hair. Soon after, 13 more women, including leaders of Jamaat, were arrested at a women’s rights press conference organized in protest of the students’ detention. These events have found muted press coverage in national and international media. Attack on Islamists aside, there appears to be a wider targeting of Islam. Visible manifestations of the Islamic faith have come under attack with pictures emerging of elderly men being yanked by their beards and accounts of other visible religiosity being a target. Changes in laws also seem to reflect targeting of Islamic principles and practice. In spite of Bangladesh’s Muslim majority, teaching of Islamic Studies, hitherto a central subject of the classroom, has been

greatly reduced from state elementary school curricula and relegated to optional in high schools by this government. The hijab has been a prominent target; the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Showkat Ali, spoke out against the veil, incredibly stating, “only those who have ugly faces use religion to cover it.” In a number of state educational institutions, headscarves have been banned, including at Rajshahi University’s Social Welfare Department, Chittagong Nursing College, and Kushtia Women’s College. The ruling party has also made moves to secularize the nation’s constitution. More recently, the emergence of hate-speech against Islam, in particular against the Prophet Muḥammad and Allāh, published by numerous lead bloggers of the Shahbag protest provoked national outrage. On February 22nd a 12-member alliance of diverse Islamic groups organized a protest after Friday prayers. The state administered a fierce crackdown leaving at least four dead and a thousand injured. Media reports showed police laying siege to Baitul Mukarram mosque, the national mosque in the capital, firing continuously at it for at least an hour as worshippers and protesters took refuge inside. Follow-up protests left many more casualties; by Feb 26th 22 people had been killed by police. On Friday, March 8th police conducted mass arrests at Baitul Mukarram of individuals they “suspected of seeking to protest in the mosque area after prayers”. Protesting has now become a crime and Mosques, particularly at Friday prayers, have become the site of state suppression. While criticism of the ruling regime leaders have warranted court summons, arrests and even torture, hate-speech against Islam has been bolstered by a regime willing to shoot those who protested it. Only recently, after much loss of life, has the state given in to public pressure and set up a committee to address this form of hate-speech. It is not, however, only Islam that has been the target of suppression; it seems the Awami League’s extreme form of secularism extends to a wider religious intolerance. Religious minorities have suffered repeated violence and harassment under this regime. Rights group, Odhikar records numerous attacks against minorities across 2012, mostly by ruling party members, with a few cases by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and none by Jamaat. Cases by ruling party members in particular have gone unchecked, with the police appearing unwilling to prosecute such party members. The Awami League activists seem to display a culture of attacking these more vulnerable religious groups with impunity in a manner not equivalently mirrored by their political opponents. Amidst the unrest, minorities have suffered a spate of attacks and the ruling regime has been quick to accuse the opposition Jamaat. That, in spite of their own history of intolerance, suddenly the Awami League is claiming to champion minority rights rings hollow and opportunistic. Furthermore, in a recent well-documented and widely deplored murder of a Hindu tailor by ruling party youth, the government was quick to deny their activists’ involvement, despite photographic and video evidence, and tried to blame the opposition. In a statement, Jamaat acting leader Moqbul Ahmed condemned the recent attacks and stated, “Jamaat has issued strict orders to its member to protect the lives and properties of minorities in light of the saying of the Prophet Muḥammad, ‘whoever harms a non-Muslim will not enter paradise’.” In response to a call from party leadership, Jamaat activists guarded minority temples to prevent further attacks. Many, including members of the minority community, contend that opposition groups like Jamaat, in the midst of their struggle to survive sustained state onslaught, can only be further crippled by out of character attacks on minorities, thus to suggest they were involved is illogical. In fact, the government alone stands to benefit from these attacks by distracting from their state violence against civilians, and such a tactic has been employed by past dictatorial governments. The violence in Bangladesh is taking a troubling turn as religious minorities are dragged into the milieu while the religious majority, and the Islamists in particular, are facing a sustained and brutal onslaught, forcing them into desperate positions and measures. The international community of Muslims needs to pay attention to the events taking place on the ground in Bangladesh, a nation that represents 10% of all Muslims worldwide, and call upon the Bangladesh government to show restraint and uphold an environment that is respectful of all faith groups and is politically pluralist. Muslims in the West should furthermore pressure their governments, including MPs, Congressmen and other political figures, to condemn state suppression and murder in Bangladesh, the politically charged ICT, and the growing religious intolerance of the ruling regime.

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10 January 2013

The World News Headlines This Week Gang rape case: five in court

Walmart, the world’s largest retail company, has been found to have had ties to a garment factory in Bangladesh where 112 workers were trapped and killed in a fire in late November 2012. The company, which buys $1 billion in garments from Bangladesh each year, initially tried to deny any connection

Mayor fires off angry letter over Banglatown

ayor of Tower Hamlets Lutfur Rahman has published a letter clamming planned changes to the borough’s electoral wards following the conclusion of a public consultation. In the strongly-worded letter, Mr Rahman called on the Local Government Boundary Commission to scrap its plans to re-name wards after the tumultuous consultation period came to an end on Monday. Mr Rahman’s detailed his response to the plans, writing that he objected in the “strongest possible terms” to the pro-

posals to scrap ‘Banglatown’, the removal of ‘St Dunstan’s’ from the Stepney Wards, and the re-naming of East India and Lansbury as Poplar North. Referring to the move to drop the name ‘Banglatown’ from the Spitalfields and Banglatown ward, he wrote: “I struggle to comprehend why any individual or political entity would regard dispensing with this name as desirable, aside from as a very cynical blast on the proverbial dog whistle, aimed at attracting support from people who resent the Bangladeshi com-

‘Renaming the (Banglatown) ward as merely ‘Spitalfields’ would be a hugely reactionary, retrograde and provocative step’

Mayor Lutfur Rahman munity’s presence in t he area. “Accordingly, renaming the ward as merely ‘Spitalfields’ would be a hugely reactionary, retro-

grade and provocative step”. The Commission is due to publish its final recommendations in Spring this year. Its draft proposals had also attracted criticism for removing the names of former Labour Party leader George Lansbury and former Bishop of London St Dunstan from

ward names in the borough. Mr Rahman concluded: “I hope that you will consider my submission, as well as the views of hundreds of local residents expressed in related petitions, extremely carefully when arriving at a final decision.” eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk

Five sentenced to death for murder in Dhaka of Saudi diplomat

special tribunal sentenced to death five Bangladeshi men for killing a Saudi diplomat in an apparent street crime earlier this year. Initial speculation about the shooting had focused on Iran, which denied the accusations. The suspects told investigators they were trying to rob the diplomat and shot him accidentally. Khalaf bin Mohammed Salem al-Ali, a 45-year-old official in the Saudi Embassy’s consu-

lar section, was killed near his home in Dhaka in March. Tribunal Judge Mohammad Motahar Hossain handed down the verdict Sunday, chief prosecutor Rafiqul Islam said. One of the men was tried in his absence, Islam said. He said the men can appeal the verdict. Iran has been accused of other international attacks or attempted attacks against diplomats, including Saudis. Days after the shooting, Saudi Arabia sent investigators to assist

Khalaf bin Mohammed Salem al-Ali was killed near his home in Dhaka Bangladeshi detectives. The defendants pleaded not guilty at the trial. After their arrest in July, the four men told investigators they tried to rob the

diplomat as he was going for a walk on the deserted street and shot him accidentally during a scuffle. Police said the men were ar-

rested after a revolver and a car used in the killing were found in their possession. Muslim-majority Bangladesh enjoys good relations with Saudi Arabia, which is a top destination for Bangladeshi migrant workers. Relations between the countries were tested in October last year, when Saudi Arabia beheaded eight Bangladeshi workers who were found guilty of robbing and killing an Egyptian.

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Five men accused of raping and murdering an Indian student were read the charges in a nearempty courtroom on Monday after the judge cleared out lawyers for bickering over whether the men deserved a defence. The 23-year-old physiotherapy student died two weeks after being gang-raped and beaten on a moving bus in New Delhi, then thrown bleeding onto the street. Protests followed, along with a fierce public debate over police failure to stem rampant violence against women. With popular anger simmering against the five men and a teenager accused in the case, most lawyers in the district where the trial will be held refuse to represent them.

British soldier shot dead

A British soldier serving with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan has been shot dead by a man in an Afghan army uniform, according to the US-led military coalition. In a statement released on Tuesday, ISAF said that the incident, which took place in southern Afghanistan on Monday, was “under investigation”. “The British soldier was killed when a suspected Afghan soldier opened fire first at Afghan troops and then at British soldiers,” said Major Martyn Crighton, an ISAF spokesman. “In the subsequent engagement, the attacker was killed by British troops.”

Many killed in drone attack

At least eight people have been killed in two suspected US drone attacks in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal areas, security officials say.Both attacks took place in the Mir Ali area of the North Waziristan tribal district in the early hours of Tuesday. In Khiderkhel, eight missiles were fired at a compound, killing at least four people, security sources told Al Jazeera. In Essakhel, meanwhile, two missiles were fired, killing at least three people.

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Messi named world’s best

Barcelona and Argentina star Lionel Messi has been named world footballer of the year for the fourth time in a row, marking another unprecedented achievement. He pipped Andres Iniesta and Cristiano Ronaldo to the title. No other male footballer has been named the best on the planet in four separate years, let alone four in succession.

War for oil

es, the Iraq War was a war for oil, and it was a war with winners: Big Oil. It has been 10 years since Operation Iraqi Freedom’s bombs first landed in Baghdad. And while most of the U.S.-led coalition forces have long since gone, Western oil companies are only getting started. Before the 2003 invasion, Iraq’s domestic oil industry was fully nationalized and closed to Western oil companies. A decade of war later, it is largely privatized and utterly dominated by foreign firms. From ExxonMobil and Chevron to BP and Shell, the West’s largest oil companies have set up shop in Iraq. So have a slew of American oil service companies, including Halliburton, the Texasbased firm Dick Cheney ran before becoming George W. Bush’s running mate in 2000. The war is the one and only reason for this long sought and newly acquired access. Oil was not the only goal of the Iraq War, but it was certainly the central one, as top U.S. military and political figures have attested to in the years following the invasion. “Of course it’s about oil, we can’t really deny that,” said General John Abizaid in 2007, former head of U.S. Central Command and Military Operations in Iraq. Former Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan agreed, writing in his memoir: “I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil.” Then-Senator and now Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the same in 2007: “People say we’re not fighting for oil. Of course we are.” For the first time in about 30 years, Western oil companies are exploring for and producing oil in Iraq from some of the world’s largest oil fields and reaping enormous profit. And while the U.S. has also maintained a fairly consistent level of Iraq oil imports since the invasion, the benefits are not finding their way through Iraq’s economy or society. These outcomes were by design, the result of a decade of U.S. government and oil company pressure. In 1998, Kenneth Derr, then CEO of Chevron, said, “Iraq possesses huge reserves of oil and gasreserves I’d love Chevron to have access to.” Today it does. In 2000, Big Oil, including Exxon, Chevron, BP, and Shell, spent more money to get fellow oilmen George W. Bush and Dick Cheney into office than they had spent on any previous election. Just over a week into Bush’s first term, their efforts paid off when the National Energy Policy Development Group, chaired by Dick Cheney, was formed, bringing the administration and the oil companies together to plot our collective energy future. In March, the task force reviewed lists and maps outlining Iraq’s entire oil productive capacity. Planning for a military invasion was soon underway. Bush’s first Treasury Secretary, Paul O’Neill, said in 2004: “Already by February [2001], the talk was mostly about logistics. Not the why [to invade Iraq], but the how and how quickly.” In its final report in May 2001, the task force argued that Middle Eastern countries should be urged “to open up areas of their energy sectors to foreign investment.” This is precisely what has been achieved in Iraq. Here’s how they did it. The State Department Future of Iraq Project’s Oil and Energy Working Group met from February 2002 to April 2003 and agreed that Iraq “should be opened to international oil companies as quickly as possible after the war.” The list of the group’s members was not made public, but Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum -- who was appointed Iraq’s oil minister by the U.S. occupation government in September 2003 -- was part of the group, according to Greg Muttitt, the journalist and author of “Fuel on the Fire: Oil and Politics in Occupied Iraq”. Bahr al-Uloum promptly set about trying to implement the group’s objectives. At the same time, representatives from ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Halliburton, among others, met with Cheney’s staff in January 2003, to discuss plans for Iraq’s postwar industry. For the next decade, former and current executives of western oil companies acted first as administrators of Iraq’s oil ministry, and then as “advisers” to the Iraqi government.

Ten years ago the war in Iraq began. Antonia Juhasz, an oil industry analyst and author of several books, including ‘The Bush Agenda’ and ‘The Tyranny of Oil’ , tells CNN how it is now widely acknowledged that war was indeed about oil and not weapons of mass destruction, as was claimed at the time

21 March 2013

Features Before the invasion, there were just two things standing in the way of western oil companies operating in Iraq: Saddam Hussein and the nation’s legal system. The invasion dealt handily with Hussein. To address the latter problem, some both in and outside of the Bush administration argued that it should simply change Iraq’s oil laws through the U.S.-led coalition government of Iraq which ran the country from April 2003 to June 2004. Instead the White House waited, choosing to pressure the newly-elected Iraqi government to pass new oil legislation itself. This Iraq Hydrocarbons Law, partially drafted by the western oil industry, would lock the nation into private foreign investment under the most corporate-friendly terms. The Bush administration pushed the Iraqi government both publicly and privately to pass the law. And in January 2007, as the ‘’surge” of 20,000 additional American troops was being finalized, the president set specific benchmarks for the Iraqi government, including the passage of new oil legislation to “promote investment, national unity, and reconciliation.” But due to enormous public opposition and a recalcitrant parliament, the central Iraqi government has failed to pass the Hydrocarbons Law. Usama al-Nujeyfi, a member of the parliamentary energy committee, even quit in protest over the law, saying it would cede too much control to global companies and “ruin the country’s future.” In 2008, with the likelihood of the law’s passage and the prospect of continued foreign military occupation dimming as elections loomed in the U.S. and Iraq, the oil companies settled on a different track. Bypassing parliament, the firms started signing contracts that provide all of the access and most of the favorable treatment the Hydrocarbons Law would provide - and the Bush administration helped draft the model contracts. Upon leaving office, Bush and Obama administration officials have even worked for oil companies as advisers on their Iraq endeavors. For example, former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad’s company, CMX-Gryphon, “provides international oil companies and multinationals with unparalleled access, insight and knowledge on Iraq.” The new contracts lack the security a new legal structure would grant, and Iraqi lawmakers have argued that they run contrary to existing law, which requires government control, operation, and ownership of Iraq’s oil sector. But the contracts do achieve the key goal of the Cheney energy task force: all-but-privatizing the Iraqi oil sector and opening it to private foreign companies. They also provide exceptionally long contract terms, high ownership stakes, and eliminate requirements that Iraq’s oil stay in Iraq, that companies invest earnings in the local economy, or hire a majority of local workers. Iraq’s oil production has increased by more than 40% in the last five years to 3 million barrels of oil a day (still below the 1979 high of 3.5 million set by Iraq’s state-owned companies), but a full 80% of this is being exported out of the country while Iraqis struggle to meet basic energy consumption needs. GDP per capita has increased significantly, yet remains among the lowest in the world and well below some of Iraq’s other oil-rich neighbors. Basic services such as water and electricity remain luxuries, while 25% of the population lives in poverty. The promise of new energy-related jobs across the country has yet to materialize. The oil and gas sectors today account directly for less than 2% of total employment as foreign companies rely instead on imported labor. In just the last few weeks, more than 1,000 people have protested at ExxonMobil and Russia Lukoil’s super-giant West Qurna oil field, demanding jobs and payment for private land that has been lost or damaged by oil operations. The Iraqi military was called in to respond. Fed up with the firms, a leading coalition of Iraqi civil society groups and trade unions, including oil workers, declared on February 15 that international oil companies have “taken the place of foreign troops in compromising Iraqi sovereignty” and should “set a timetable for withdrawal.” Closer to home, at a protest at Chevron’s Houston headquarters in 2010, former U.S. Army Military Intelligence officer Thomas Buonomo, member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, held up a sign which read, “Dear Chevron: Thank you for dishonoring our service.” Yes, the Iraq War was a war for oil, and it was a war with losers: the Iraqi people, and all those who spilled and lost blood so that Big Oil could come out ahead.

Bangladesh riots continue unabated

pposition supporters clashed with progovernment activists in Bangladesh, leaving one man dead amid reports of explosions of bombs and a train derailment blamed on the opposition during a nationwide general strike. The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, or BNP, and its 17 other allies were enforcing the shutdown to try to secure release of 154 leaders and activists detained this month. The group enforced a similar shutdown across the South Asian country Monday, and a similar shutdown is expected in Dhaka, the capital, on Thursday. Those detained are facing charges of attacking police and creating chaos during an anti-government rally that ended abruptly amid explosions and clashes on March 11. In Dhaka, opposition activists on Tuesday detonated crude bombs and vandalized vehicles, said bdnews24. com agency and Ekattor TV station. Railway official Abul Kalam Azad said a train derailed early Tuesday in northeastern Moulvibazar district after suspected opposition activists removed plates from the track. He said 15 passengers were slightly injured, while the derailment forced authorities to suspend operations in the region. A student front leader of the ruling Awami League bled to death after being hit with sharp weapons in fighting with opposition supporters in northern Tangail district, said local police chief Monir Hossain. In northwestern district of Rajshahi, activists from Jamaat-e-Islami, a main ally of the main opposition BNP, clashed with police, leaving scores injured. At least 35 people were injured in two clashes in the area while more than 40 homemade bombs exploded.