Habib Siddiqui

Mehdi Hasan is an accomplished journalist and debater. Here below is his article on an important subject of our time when the criminal activities are mistakenly equated with religion of the  perpetrators. ======================= What do you think of when you hear the word “terrorist”? Big beards and brown skins? Turban-wearing Muslim migrants from the Middle East? Refugees maybe? Yet according to a report from the New America Foundation , “every jihadist who conducted a lethal attack inside the United States since 9/11 was a citizen or legal resident.” A recent study in Britain, which last week endured its worst terrorist atrocity since 2005, revealed that more than two out of three “Islamism-inspired” terrorist offenses were carried out by individuals “who were either born or raised in the UK.” The common stereotype of the Middle Eastern, Muslim-born terrorist is not just lazy and inaccurate, but easy fodder for the anti-immigrant, anti-Islam far right. Consider the swift re...

Here below is an article by Thomas C. Mountain. Late in 2016 the Rwandan Government indicted several senior French Army Generals for crimes against humanity including genocide for their role in the 1994 Rwandan holocaust. The Rwandan case against the French Generals is based on the French having instigated and trained the Interhamwe para-military Hutu militia that was responsible for most of the killings of the minority Tutsi tribe and its supporters. This most inconvenient of facts is admitted to by the French media who are still trying to shrug off blame for the French crimes in Rwanda and deny any “smoking gun” exists. This latest in a long series of Rwandan government exposés of the French Military and Foreign Ministry’s role in the 1994 mass murder(some 800,000 by most accounts) provides that very “smoking gun”, for the well documented French Military role in the very existence of the Interhamwe death squads in undeniable. Who is going to believe that after creating, training...

Under Modi's rule in India, the life of anyone who is not a Hindu has worsened. Minority Muslims and Christians are the worst victims. Many of the  Indian states have banned the slaughter of cow, thus putting many Muslim families in financial trouble since they depend on trade and selling beef in the market. Hindutvadi extremist fascists want to turn India into a state for the Hindus only where minorities won't have any right. Even the foreign students and workers are not safe in Hindu India. Five Nigerian students were attacked on Monday by crowds, while another was beaten by a mob inside a shopping mall. To read the news, click here .

The Kashmiris are suffering under Indian occupation in the IOK. The once scenic place, called the heaven on earth, has now become a war zone, where the life of ordinary Kashmiris has become unbearable. Indian security forces kill anyone suspected as a rebel or asking for freedom for the people of Kashmir. At least three civilians have been killed during protests in India-administered Kashmir after police targeted a home where a suspected rebel was holed up. About 28 people were also injured in Tuesday's demonstration that followed a gun battle at the home in the southern town of Chadoora, where the suspected fighter was killed, police and witnesses said. To read the news, click here .

There is little doubt that communalism has become the order of the day in India. More and more she is showing that it is Hindu India and not secular India where everyone could have the same right. The Uttar Pradesh, the largest state in India, has elected a firebrand Hindu fascist - more commonly called here Hindu nationalist - who not too long ago had a simple message against the minority Muslims - "If they (Muslims) convert one Hindu girl, we will convert 100 Muslim girls ... if they kill one Hindu, we will also kill 100 Muslims." To read the full text of the news, click here .

Trump Insults the Media, but Bush Bullied and Defanged It to Sell the Iraq War , writes Zaid Jilani. His article can be read by clicking her e.

Here below is part of an article by Ronald Bailey . The Global Terrorism Database at the University of Maryland, which catalogs information on over 150,000 incidents since 1970, defines terrorism as an "intentional act of violence or threat of violence by a non-state actor" that meets at least two of three criteria. First, that it be "aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal." Second, that there is "evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) other than the immediate victims." And finally, that it be "outside the precepts of International Humanitarian Law." The Georgia State researchers report that the database catalogs 110 terrorist attacks in the U.S. over the most recent five-year span period in the database. (Globally, there were more than 57,000 terrorist attacks during that period.) In some cases, the media tended to report several attacks p...

While Pentagon statements on them insisted everyone killed was an ISIS fighters, mounting evidence suggests US airstrikes against the city of Mosul have killed nearly 300 civilians , with attacks just last week burying over 150 people under the rubble of residential buildings in the city’s west. To read the full text of the news report, click here.

The Hague, Netherlands // The International Criminal Court on Friday awarded reparations to victims of war crimes for the first time since it was founded 15 years ago. To read the news, click here .

History and Nature of the Ayodhya Dispute By Irfan Engineer In a surprise development, the Supreme Court on 21 st March 2017 urged the rival parties in the Ram Janamabhoomi – Babri Masjid (RJBM) case to negotiate and resolve the dispute in a spirit of give and take. The Chief Justice of India offered himself to be a mediator should both the parties agreed. The observations came on application of Subramanian Swamy seeking urgent hearing of the appeal against the order of Allahabad High Court dated 30 th September 2010 in the RJBM title suit. Subramanian Swamy, a BJP leader, has no locus standi in the case and he is not a party in the Appeal. Yet the Supreme Court exercised its discretion and even asked the BJP leader to talk to all parties to the case and bring them to negotiating table. It is not clear whether Swamy was prompted by the Prime Minister but the application seems to be made in the background of massive victory of the BJP in UP Assembly elections. Though the mandat...

The top United Nations human rights body has agreed to send a fact-finding mission to investigate allegations of Burmese security forces killing, raping and torturing Rohingya Muslims. In a move bound to put pressure on State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi's government, the 47-member UN Human Rights Council approved a resolution, without holding a vote, to “dispatch urgently” the crew to the war-torn Asian country. The motion, brought by the European Union and countries including the US, called for “ensuring full accountability for perpetrators and justice for victims”. A UN report issued last month, based on interviews with 220 Rohingya among 75,000 who have fled to Bangladesh since October, accused Burma’s security forces of having committed mass killings and gang rapes in a campaign that “very likely” amounts to crimes again humanity and possibly ethnic cleansing. To read the full text of the news, click here .

March 24, 2017 (#AE0317) PRESS STATEMENT Arakan Rohingya Union and The European Rohingya Council Welcome the Adoption of the UN Human Rights Council Resolution on Myanmar The United Nations Human Rights Council has agreed to send an international fact-finding mission to investigate widespread allegations of killings, rape, and torture by Myanmar armed forces against Rohingya ethnic minority in Arakan/Rakhine state. Arakan Rohingya Union (ARU) and the European Rohingya Council (ERC) warmly welcome the HRC Resolution calling for sending an international fact-finding mission to Arakan to investigate crimes against humanity committed by the Government of Myanmar armed forces (combinations of army, BGP personnel, and township police) accompanied by local government officials. Myanmar ambassador Htin Lynn, speaking before the decision was taken by consensus, rejected the move as “not acceptable”. Myanmar’s national commission had just interviewed alleged victims who fled to Bangla...

The government of Myanmar has rebuffed the United Nations decision to probe into alleged human rights violations in the country’s western Rakhine State, according to official media reports on Saturday. The UN Human Rights Council on Friday decided to send an international fact-finding mission to the southeast Asian country to establish "the facts and circumstances" of the alleged "violations by military and security forces, and abuses" against Rohingya Muslims in particular.  The state-run newspapers on Saturday published a statement of the Foreign Ministry saying the establishment of the mission would do more to inflame, rather than resolve the issues at this time. "Myanmar has dissociated itself from the resolution as a whole," the statement said, adding the decision was not in accord with the "complex and challenging" situation on the ground and the national circumstances. The government also said it would set out a clear action plan for...

On Monday, Amnesty International released an  unusual statement  asking the new chief minister of India’s largest state to publicly retract his anti-Muslim statements. The last such statement by the human rights organization directed at a popularly elected leader was aimed at  President Trump . Amnesty’s statement came after hard-line Hindu monk Yogi Adityanath took power last week in Uttar Pradesh, a state with a population of 200 million. (For reference, Brazil’s population is 200.4 million). As the largest state in India, Uttar Pradesh has great sway over national politics. It is also a volatile state, where in  1992  deadly riots over a disputed temple killed more than 2,000 people. December will mark 25 years since a Hindu mob, led by the pro-Hindutva group Vishwa Hindu Parishad and its associates, including the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, had destroyed the historic Babri mosque in the temple town of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh in order to build a...

A friend of mine recently sent me a YouTube video link to a 3-part lecture by Professor Matthew R. Davies on "Understanding Islam". You can view the series by clicking here , here and here . I recommend this lecture series to any non-Muslim who is interested in the  subject. As a knowledgeable Christian, who teaches religion, Mr. Davies did an excellent job in discussing the faith of some 1.7 billion Muslims in the world. During the Q&A, Professor Davies was asked a question about grace in the Qur'an. The questioner was told by some Christians that the word 'grace' does not appear in the Qur'an. I am glad that Mr. Davies was able to correct the misconception on this subject. The Qur'an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (S) in the early 7th century, C.E., in piecemeal over a period of 23 years in Arabia in  the language of the Arabs, i.e., Arabic. Obviously, it would be foolish to expect the English word 'grace' within the Qur'an. So, wh...

How paranoid can one become? Consider the latest laptop ban. Last Tuesday, the U.S. and U.K. banned people flying from much of the Middle East and North Africa from carrying laptops, tablets and other large electronic devices in the airplane cabin because of concerns about terrorism. While the ban notice states this is not a public regulation but it does request that the Middle Eastern airlines comply within 96 hours of its release, on Tuesday at 3 a.m. Eastern time. Correspondingly, for any airline refusing to obey the order, the U.S. is prepared to work with the FAA to take certificates away to prevent the airline from flying into the United States. Laptops are being seen as a security threat, especially following a 2016 explosion. A Daallo Airlines flight, originating from Mogadishu, Somalia, had a laptop bomb explode in midair, causing a hole in the side of its fuselage. That bomber was killed, and luckily all the passengers and crew were secure as the plane landed safely. ...