Tag: Muslim

Aung San Suu Kyi Calls For ‘Peace And Reconciliation’ In Burma But Refuses To Address Rohingya Muslim Genocide

Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi has vowed to work towards “peace and national reconciliation” but has refused to address accusations Rohingya Muslims in her country may be the victims of crimes against humanity.

Ms Suu Kyi gave no specific details on how her government intends to resolve the violence and discrimination the long-persecuted Muslim minority face.

“We do not want our country to be unstable. But we’ve had a long history of disunity within our nation,” she said, addressing senior business representatives in Singapore.

“So national reconciliation is unavoidably important for us. It’s not a matter of choice. It’s unavoidable.”

She added: “We have to achieve peace and national reconciliation that our country may be able to progress, and that those who wish to invest in our country may find the right amount of confidence.”

Accounts of the military having gang raped, tortured and murdered members of the Rohingya community caused thousands of angry Muslims take to the streets across Asia in protest.

Around 30,000 have fled their home in Rakhines and analysis of satellite images by Human Rights Watch found hundreds of buildings in Rohingya villages have been burned.

The Burmese government has denied allegations of abuse. Officials say the army is hunting “terrorists” behind raids on police last month.

Despite having lived in Burma for generations, Rohingya Muslims are barred from citizenship in the nation of 50 million, and instead live as some of the most oppressed people in the world.

Since communal violence broke out in 2012, more than 120,000 Rohingya have been driven from their homes and crammed into squalid camps guarded by police. There, they are denied healthcare and education, and their movements are heavily restricted.

Ms Suu Kyi was scheduled to visit Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, after Singapore, but postponed the trip in the face of public protests and a thwarted bomb plot against the Burmese embassy.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will take part in a rare rally at the weekend to protest the crackdown on Rohingyas, an official from his office said Tuesday.

Ms Suu Kyi led her party to victory in elections last year but, barred from becoming president by a junta-era constitution, instead holds a specially created post of state counsellor.

She appointed fellow Nobel laureate former UN chief Kofi Annan to head a special commission to investigate how to mend bitter religious and ethnic divides in impoverished Rakhine.

Mr Annan began a week-long trip to Burma on Tuesday.

Source: www.independent.co.uk

December 1, 2016
UN To Myanmar: Your Reputation Is At Stake Over Rohingya Crisis

UNITED NATIONS — The reputation of Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in Myanmar is at stake amid international concerns over how it is dealing with violence in the country’s divided northwest, a senior United Nations official warned on Tuesday (Nov 29).

The conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine State has sent hundreds of Rohingya Muslims fleeing across the border to Bangladesh amid allegations of abuses by security forces. The crisis poses a serious challenge to Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi, who swept to power last year on promises of national reconciliation.

In a statement, the U.N.’s special adviser on the prevention of genocide Adama Dieng, said the allegations “must be verified as a matter of urgency” and urged the government to allow access to the area.

“If they are true, the lives of thousands of people are at risk. The reputation of Myanmar, its new Government and its military forces is also at stake in this matter,” he said.

“Myanmar needs to demonstrate its commitment to the rule of law and to the human rights of all its populations. It cannot expect that such serious allegations are ignored or go unscrutinised,” he said.

Soldiers have poured into the area along Myanmar’s frontier with Bangladesh, responding to coordinated attacks on three border posts on Oct. 9 that killed nine police officers.

Myanmar’s military and the government have rejected allegations by residents and rights groups that soldiers have raped Rohingya women, burnt houses and killed civilians during the military operation in Rakhine.

The violence, the most serious bloodshed in Rakhine since hundreds were killed in communal clashes in 2012, has renewed international criticism that Ms Suu Kyi has done too little to alleviate the plight of the Rohingya minority, who are denied citizenship and access to basic services.

“The government needs, for once and for all, to find a sustainable solution to the situation of the Rohingya Muslims and other religious and ethnic minorities in Myanmar, a solution that is in full compliance with the international human rights standards that the government has pledged to respect,” Mr Dieng said.

Source: www.todayonline.com

December 1, 2016
Auntie Anne’s: No More ‘Pretzel Dog’, Now It’s Halal ‘Pretzel Sausage’

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 ― The local chapter of US pretzel chain Auntie Anne’s confirmed today that it has changed the name of its “pretzel dog” to “pretzel sausage”, after it was reported that they would be denied halal certification if they refused to do so.

The company’s executive Farhatul Kamilah Mohamed Sazali said the name was changed to meet the requirements set by the country’s halal authorities.

“We changed already to ‘pretzel sausage’ to comply with Malaysia’s halal certification requirements,” she told Malay Mail Online when contacted today.

On October 31, the company had posted a statement on its Facebook page, saying that it would fulfil all the requirements towards obtaining halal certification in the country.

“With the recent news circulating on our halal status, we would like to assure our loyal customers and friends that all our ingredients are purchased from Jakim certified halal suppliers,” the brand said, referring to the Malaysian Islamic Development Department.

Jakim previously denied that it had rejected Auntie Anne’s application for halal status due to the presence of the word “dog” in its menu, and had blamed media for the public furore.

Its halal division director Dr Sirajuddin Suhaimee said the chain’s application for halal certification had failed due to reasons such as incomplete paperwork.

Previously, Sirajuddin had told the media that “In Islam, dogs are considered unclean and the name cannot be related to halal certification” but later insisted his remark was in general and not specific to the Auntie Anne’s chain.

Media outlets reported Sirajuddin’s remarks about the unsuitability of the term “dogs” this week, along with the department’s guidelines against halal food items being similar in name to haram products such as beer, bacon and ham, among others.

The issue surfaced after an executive with US pretzel chain Auntie Anne’s revealed that their application for halal certification had failed due to, among others, concerns over the “pretzel dogs” in their menu.

Muslim lawmakers from both sides of the political divide have also expressed their disagreement with Jakim’s decision.

On the heels of the Auntie Anne’s controversy, non-halal pork burger chain Ninja Joe was probed by state religious authorities for allegedly confusing Muslims with its “P. Ramly” homage burger.

Source: www.themalaymailonline.com

November 30, 2016
Malaysia PM Najib Razak: Hudud Is About Empowering Sharia Courts

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s prime minister has expressed support for strict Islamic laws as he seeks to consolidate support of ethnic Malay Muslims at a party meeting this week, as frustration over graft and the economy cloud prospects for the next election.

Prime Minister Najib Razak has battled calls to resign over the last 18 months, as a scandal at his pet project, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), drew the anger of the public, opponents and members of his own United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) ruling party.

A new opposition party led by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and a former deputy prime minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, who Najib sacked for questioning his handling of 1MDB, is threatening to split the majority Malay vote that has handed UMNO victory in every election since independence in 1957.

Ahead of the annual party meeting, Najib said it was the responsibility of Muslims to support a plan by the rival Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party to push for the adoption of hudud, the Islamic penal code, that sets out punishments such as amputation and stoning.

“We want to develop Islam,” Najib said in an interview with pro-government broadcaster TV3.

“Non-Muslims must understand that this is not about hudud but about empowering the sharia courts.”

With rising prices and poor economic prospects for next year, Najib is expected to bank on ethnic and religious sentiment to woo majority Malay voters. An election is due by 2018.

Najib said his policy speech at this year’s UMNO meeting would focus on the interests of Malays and Islam.

“This is my speech as UMNO president, so my main audience are UMNO members and the Malays and bumiputera,” he said, using a term that roughly translates as sons of the soil, and includes Malays but not members of the ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.

“It doesn’t mean we don’t care at all about the others, but this is an UMNO assembly,” he said.

Najib faced the biggest challenge to his leadership last year after reports that hundreds of millions of dollars was misappropriated from state fund 1MDB, which he founded.

He acted swiftly to preserve his position – sacking critics in his administration and closing a graft investigation.

Nevertheless, the scandal clouds prospects for an early election that Najib could call to cement his position, with multiple international investigations going on and a suit related to the case filed by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Adding to his troubles is the plunge of the ringgit currency after Donald Trump’s U.S. election win. It is Asia’s worst performing currency, shedding nearly 7 percent over the past two weeks.

“Najib’s big problem is market confidence,” said James Chin, director at the University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute.

“Tycoons will move against him if the ringgit keeps going down, but more importantly, SMEs and traders will go to the wall as prices will go up 20 percent across the board,” he said, referring to small- and medium-sized enterprises.

(Editing by Robert Birsel)

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

November 30, 2016
ASEAN Ulama & NGO Comes Up With Action Plan For Rohingya

THE ACTION PLAN

ASEAN + ULAMA DAN NGO MEETING TO STOP THE MYANMAR MASSACRE

1. Distribution of the Shah Alam Declaration Worldwide ( English and Arabic )
– all OIC Head of State members and OIC Special Envoy on Rohingya
– UN Security Council members
– UN Secretary General and UN Special Envoy on Rohingya
– all Asean Head of State members
– Chair of EU
– main international Media

ACTION : MAPIM and SHURA

2. Food and Humanitarian Flotilla to Myanmar
– defining the objectives ( humanitarian and advocacy )
– determing of vessel and route ( options from Penang or Aceh or Krabi or Phuket or India or Bangladesh)
– solicit support from UN and OIC and EU and Asean member state
– shipping of food, medical , basic needs
– participation : ngo activists, international media, celebrities , nobel peace prize winners, ulama, journalist ..ect
– Funding
– voyage schedule
– public mobilization and public annoucement
– target dates and time line.

ACTION : MAPIM and other Ngos

3. Inter religious Dialogue and missions with Religous Leaders in Asean +
– issuing a collective declaration
– inter religous mission to advocate for peace to Myanmar
– sending message to Dalai Lama

ACTION :
4. Special letter to China , India and Bangladesh
– demand to pressure Myanmar to stop the genocide
– demand Bangladesh to protect the rights Rohingya refugees and access to humanitarian assistance
– send delegate to embassies

ACTION :
5. Memorandum to Asean Human Rights Commission
– demand Myanmar to comply to protection of the Human Rights of minorities
– send a delegate to Asean Secretariate in Jakarta
– call to suspend and boycot Myanmar iin Asean if genocide persist.

ACTION :
6. Solidarity call to all International Muslims and Ulama Associations to stop the Myanmar Massacre.
– call to the International Union of Ulama to urge all ulama world wide to stand up against Myanmar genocide.
– urge all Muslims to hold special prayers for Rohingya brothers and sisters.
– call to contribute to humanitarian assistance to Rohingya victims of oppression by Myanmar regime.
– call to defend the victims of injustice by the Myanmar regime on the Rohingya

7. International Boycott Campaign on Myanmar
– to consider an international boycott against Myanmar if genocide persist within the next 7 days.
– to look into ways of launching an effective boycot in trade , cultural, social , diplomatic and labor.
9. International Campaign to revoke Peace Prize from Aung San Su Kyi.
– to send a letter to Aung San Su Kyi conveying a reminder message to her of her responsibilty as a Nobel Peace Prize Winner that she is beholden to carry the duty of protectiong human rights of the oppressed and minorities.
– to write a petition to the Panel Board of the Nobel Peace Prize

10. Calling International Ulama for a Fatwa on the Myanmar Rohingya Massacre :
– to write to the Chairman of International Ulama Union
– to call on all imam of world masaajid to conduct a special prayer on the oppression on the Rohingya .

Action Plan Proposed by the Delegates:

1. Talk with China to put pressure on the Myanmar government as China is influential. Propose solution to PM Najib to talk to China for negotiation.
2. UN is paralyzed with inaction, hence the neighbouring countries should put pressure on them to take actions through ASEAN channels.
3. Asian Rohingya Centers (think tank) published a declaration called the “Declaration of Selayang” which initiated the 2017 International Year of Solidarity for Rohingya. Its objective is also to revoke Aung San Suu Kyi’s Nobel Peace Prize award;
a. Planning for a workshop & public hearing at town halls to hear & share the problems of the Rohingya in Malaysia
b. Engage with the local Rohingyas to assist them through Whatsapp & Facebook & go global.
4. Hold dialogues between Buddhists & Muslims in Myanmar.
5. Stakeholders such as the British, Bangladesh & Myanmar Governments to hold an international conference.
6. Use OIC as a platform by sending letters to the Myanmar Government on the genocide
7. Freedom Flotilla for Rohingya
8. Investigation for the crimes against humanity in Arakan

Source: www.mapim.org

November 30, 2016