Rilek1Corner

Tag: Islam

  • Sydney Siege Gunman Identified As Self-Styled Islamic State Preacher Sheik Haron Monis

    Sydney Siege Gunman Identified As Self-Styled Islamic State Preacher Sheik Haron Monis

    He is Sheik Man Haron Monis, who is a self-styled preacher of Islamic State on bail for accessory to murder.

    Monis, 50, died at the end of a 16-hour siege at the cafe early this morning, but was no stranger to Australian authorities.

    He first came to public notice in 2010 when he faced charges for sending offensive letters to the families of two Australian soldiers who died in Afghanistan – and the family of a trade official, Craig Senger, who died in the 2009 Jakarta bombing.

    As a result, he was convicted of 12 counts of using a postal service to cause offence, ordered to perform 300 hours of community service and placed on a two-year good behaviour bond.

    Monis was banned from sending similar letters to the relatives of British soldiers, but claimed in court at the time the condition was a breach of his freedom of speech.

    Monis’ former lawyer Manny Conditsis describes him as a “damaged goods individual” with an ideology that clouds his common sense.

    Monis was also accused of being an accessory to his ex-wife’s murder and faced charges on 40 offences relating to the indecent and sexual assault of several women in 2002.

    He was granted bail and was set to reappear in court in February 2015.

     

    Source: www.sbs.com.au

  • Sydney Siege Ended After Australian Police Storm Cafe

    Sydney Siege Ended After Australian Police Storm Cafe

    SYDNEY – Heavily armed Australian police stormed a Sydney cafe early on Tuesday morning and freed a number of hostages being held there at gunpoint, in a dramatic end to a 16-hour siege in which three people including the attacker were killed.

    Police have not publicly identified the gunman but a police source named him as Man Haron Monis, an Iranian refugee and self-styled sheikh known for sending hate mail to the families of Australian troops killed in Afghanistan. He was charged last year with being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife, but had been free on bail.

    Several videos apparently showing hostages inside the Lindt cafe in Sydney’s central business district making demands on behalf of Monis were posted on social media during the siege.

    The gunman, whom the frightened hostages referred to as “brother”, demanded to talk to Prime Minister Tony Abbott, the delivery of an Islamic State flag, and that media broadcast that Australia was under attack by Islamic State.

    Abbott said the gunman was well known to authorities and had a history of extremism and mental instability.

    Around 2 a.m. local time (10.00 a.m. ET on Monday), at least six people believed to have been held captive in the cafe managed to flee after gunshots were heard coming from inside.

    Police then moved in, with heavy gunfire and blasts from stun grenades echoing from the building.

    “They made the call because they believed at that time if they didn’t enter there would have been many more lives lost,” said Andrew Scipione, police commissioner for the state of New South Wales.

    An investigation would determine whether hostages were killed by the gunman or died in cross-fire, Scipione told reporters just before dawn.

    CAFE MANAGER, BARRISTER KILLED

    Police said a 50-year-old man, believed to be the attacker, was killed. Television pictures showed he appeared to have been armed with a sawn-off shotgun.

    A man aged 34 and a 38-year-old woman were also killed, police said. The man was the cafe manager and the woman was a mother and lawyer, Sydney media reported. Four were wounded, including a policeman hit in the face with shotgun pellets.

    Medics tried to resuscitate at least one person after the raid and took away several wounded people on gurneys, a Reuters witness said. Bomb squad members moved in to search for explosives, but none were found.

    So far 17 hostages have been accounted for, including at least five others who were released or escaped on Monday.

    The area near the cafe remained cordoned off on Tuesday morning, with bystanders and passing office workers leaving flowers under police tape. Flags flew at half mast across the country.

    Leaders from around the world had expressed their concern over the siege, including Stephen Harper, the prime minister of Canada, which suffered an attack on its parliament by a suspected jihadist sympathizer in October.

    NO LINKS TO TERROR GROUPS

    Monis was found guilty in 2012 of sending threatening letters to the families of eight Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan as a protest against Australia’s involvement there. He was also facing more than 40 sexual assault charges.

    “He had a long history of violent crime, infatuation with extremism and mental instability,” Abbott told reporters in Canberra. The prime minister did not identify the gunman.

    New South Wales Premier Mike Baird declined to comment when asked by a journalist whether it was appropriate for Monis to be free on bail.

    A U.S. security official said the U.S. government was being advised by Australia that there was no sign at this stage that the gunman was connected to known terrorist organizations.

    Although the hostage taker was known to the authorities, security experts said preventing attacks by people acting alone could be difficult.

    “We are entering a new phase of terrorism that is far more dangerous and more difficult to defeat than al Qaeda ever was,” ​said Cornell University law professor Jens David Ohlin, speaking in New York.

    Australia, a staunch ally of the United States and its escalating action against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, has been on high alert for attacks by home-grown militants returning from fighting in the Middle East or their supporters.

    News footage showed hostages in the cafe holding up a black and white flag displaying the Shahada, a testament to the faith of Muslims. The flag has been popular among Sunni Islamist militant groups such as Islamic State and al Qaeda.

    The incident forced the evacuation of nearby buildings and sent shockwaves around a country where many people were turning their attention to the Christmas holiday.

    In September, anti-terrorism police said they had thwarted an imminent threat to behead a random member of the public and, days later, a teenager in the city of Melbourne was shot dead after attacking two anti-terrorism officers with a knife.

    The siege cafe is in Martin Place, a pedestrian strip popular with workers on their lunch break, which was revealed as a potential location for the thwarted beheading.

    Muslim leaders urged calm. The Australian National Imams Council condemned “this criminal act unequivocally” in a joint statement with the Grand Mufti of Australia. REUTERS

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Perbankan Islam Tumbuh Pantas Tetapi Masih Boleh Diperluas

    Perbankan Islam Tumbuh Pantas Tetapi Masih Boleh Diperluas

    BANK Islam tumbuh lebih pantas daripada bank konvensional tetapi ia terlalu tertumpu dalam beberapa negara utama sehingga terlepas peluang membangunkan sektor perbankan Islam sejagat, menurut satu laporan firma runding cara sejagat, Ernst & Young.

    Bank Islam di enam negara utama iaitu Qatar, Indonesia, Arab Saudi, Malaysia, Amiriah Arab Bersatu (UAE) dan Turkey menguasai AS$625 bilion ($812 bilion) sehingga akhir tahun lalu atau 80 peratus daripada pasaran kewangan Islam sejagat.

    Jika mengambil kira Bahrain, Pakistan dan Kuwait, perkongsian pasaran mencecah 95 peratus.

    Laporan itu menganggarkan aset perbankan Islam dalam enam negara utama dijangka mencapai AS$1.8 trilion menjelang 2019.

    Ia tumbuh 1.9 kali lebih pantas daripada bank konvensional dari 2009 hingga 2013.

    “Apabila Turkey dan Malaysia meningkatkan lagi rentak pertumbuhan dan bank-bank Saudi meneruskan rombakan bagi banknya agar mematuhi syariah, kami jangkakan perkongsian pasaran negara-negara utama itu akan mencapai 80 hingga 90 peratus daripada pasaran sejagat,” kata rakan kongsi Pusat Kecemerlangan Perbankan Islam Sejagat Ernst & Young, Encik Ashar Nazim.

    Beliau menambah bahawa industri juga akan meraih manfaat apabila lebih banyak negara seperti Mesir, Pakistan, negara-negara Afrika Utara seperti Tunisia, Algeria dan Maghribi menembusi sektor itu.

    “Namun, tanpa rombakan undang-undang dan sokongan pemerintah yang kukuh, rentak pertumbuhan industri perbankan Islam dijangka sederhana,” tambah Encik Ashar.

    Kekurangan pakar dan kurangnya kesediaan meneroka pasaran luar negara juga boleh menjejas pertumbuhan industri itu di samping menyekat pertumbuhan keuntungan bank Islam.

    Secara purata, pulangan terhadap ekuiti (ROE) bagi 20 bank Islam terbaik di dunia adalah 11.9 peratus bagi tempoh lima tahun sehingga 2013.

    Ini berbanding pulangan terhadap ekuiti sebanyak 14.5 peratus bagi 20 bank konvensional, tambah laporan itu.

    Bank Islam mempunyai saiz satu perempat daripada saiz bank konvensional.

    Walaupun Singapura tidak mempunyai penduduk Muslim sebagai penduduk majoriti, Penguasa Kewangan Singapura (MAS) berkata potensi pertumbuhan bagi kewangan Islam di Singapura amat kukuh, dengan lebih banyak bank luar negara menawarkan produk mereka.

    Penolong Pengarah Urusan MAS, Encik Ng Nam Sin, sebelum ini berkata MAS komited mengembangkan “sektor penting ini”.

    Malah, dengan permintaan daripada masyarakat Islam dan pelabur bukan Islam, kewangan Islam kini sama menonjol sejajar dengan khidmat kewangan konvensional.

    Beberapa bank Timur Tengah pula, seperti Qatar National Bank, bank terbesar di rantau itu, difahamkan berminat mengembangkan khidmat kewangan Islam di sini.

    “Potensi pertumbuhan bagi kewangan Islam di Singapura kukuh dan MAS komited mengembangkan sektor penting ini dalam industri khidmat kewangan,” ujar Encik Ng.

    Beliau menambah bahawa matlamat MAS ialah menggembleng kekuatannya dalam perbankan borong, pengurusan aset dan pasaran modal bagi mengembangkan kewangan Islam.

    Menurutnya, pendekatan serampang tiga mata dilaksana MAS bagi mengembangkan industri itu di sini.

    Pertama, ia memastikan medan permainan sama rata bagi kewangan Islam dan kewangan konvensional.

    Kedua, ia akan juga mempromosikan pembangunan bakat karyawan kewangan Islam di sini.

    Ketiga, MAS akan turut serta dalam memupuk piawaian antarabangsa bagi industri itu dengan menjadi anggota majlis Lembaga Khidmat Kewangan Islam (IFSB).

     

    Source: http://beritaharian.sg

  • International Islamic University Malaysia Student Named Best Overall Speaker At Cambridge University Women’s Open Debate

    International Islamic University Malaysia Student Named Best Overall Speaker At Cambridge University Women’s Open Debate

    PETALING JAYA: International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) student Ameera Natasha Moore has been named best overall speaker in the recently concluded Cambridge University Women’s Debate Open.

    In receiving the award, the third-year law student outranked debaters from renowned institutions including Oxford University, Durham University, Trinity College Dublin, University College London, Vienna University, Berlin University, St Andrews University, Warwick University, the London School of Economics and Tel Aviv University among others.

    Ameera, 21, and her team-mate from IIUM, Sara Rahim, 19, were the highest ranked team in the tournament, also known as The Norton Rose Fulbright Cambridge Women’s Open, after accumulating the most speaker points in all four preliminary rounds.

    However, IIUM bowed out in the four-way semi-finals knock-out round against Trinity College Dublin and two teams from Oxford University.

    The ranking is just another cap in Ameera’s impressive international debate resume.

    Ameera is also a two-time English as a Second Language (ESL) winner of the Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championship, the champion and overall best speaker of the Asian English Olympics Debate Tournament 2014, and an ESL semi-finalist of the prestigious World Universities Debating Championship 2014 held in India.

    Apart from being crowned this year’s Malaysian Royal National Debating Champion, the Sekolah Seri Puteri alumna has also accumulated a long list of trophies from various local tournaments.

    “I feel great. I definitely was not expecting (the ranking) as I knew the competition was tough! Yet at the same time, I feel satisfied because being one of the only Asian teams there and to dispel the myth that women can’t talk about sports or international relations, was an experience I’ll never forget,” Ameera told The Star Online.


    “During the tournament, my team-mate Sarah and I were practically jumping when the motion ‘This House Believes that the US and Iran should form alliances to fight against the Islamic State’, was revealed as we had done extensive research on the issue.

    When asked to share her most memorable experience during the competition, Ameera said: “To come out of that debate ranking first with our opponents, including Oxford, congratulating us and saying that it was very well deserved, meant so much. To know that even your opponents are happy for you, that’s something that words can’t describe.”

    After graduation, Ameera looks forward to working closely with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in helping with the plight of women and children.

    “It’s important for women to use debate as a platform to break down existing stereotypes. Especially where women’s and girls’ rights are undermined, debate can be used as the most effective tool for changing mindsets and questioning patriarchal attitudes at politics, work and at home,” added Sarah, a second year IIUM economics student from Afghanistan.

    The competition, which was held in Cambridge University, United Kingdom, on Nov 23, saw 51 all-women teams from across the world taking part.

    Although most participants debated under the banners of their universities and tertiary institutions, the competition was also open to composite teams made up from several institutions.

    The tournament was held to encourage participation from women in the debating scene and to raise awareness of women’s issues.

     

    Source: http://www.thestar.com.my

  • Man Charged For Slapping Muslim Bollywood Actress For Wearing Short Dress During Filming

    Man Charged For Slapping Muslim Bollywood Actress For Wearing Short Dress During Filming

    MUMBAI (AFP) – A man has appeared in court after slapping a Bollywood actress for wearing a short dress during the filming of a reality television show, police said Tuesday.

    The 24-year-old assaulted model and actress Gauhar Khan in Mumbai because “being a Muslim woman, she should not have worn such a short dress,” police quoted him as saying.

    He was wrested away by security guards at the shooting of “India’s Raw Star”, hosted by Khan, in north Mumbai on Sunday and then arrested.

    “The accused was produced in the court on Monday,” said assistant police inspector Sanjay Shinde at the Aarey Sub Police Station, without giving further details.

    “Since it is a matter associated with Bollywood, a senior officer is also following the progress of the probe,” he told AFP.

    Khan has appeared in several films and last year won “Big Boss”, India’s reality show equivalent to “Big Brother”.

    Treatment of women in the country has been the subject of much media attention over the past two years after a student was gang-raped and killed in the capital New Delhi.

    But people hoping for increased awareness of women’s rights would probably be sent “into the depths of despair” by the comments of the man who attacked Khan, the Mid Day newspaper said Tuesday.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com