Muslims continue protest against demolition of mosque in China

Agencies
August 11, 2018

Chinese state media has defended the planned demolition of a mosque in the country’s northwest, saying that no religion is bigger than the law even as thousands of ethnic Hui Muslims continued sit-in protests against the plan. Thousands of protesters thwarted attempts by officials in Wuzhong city on Thursday to demolish parts of the Weizhou Grand Mosque in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region for alleged violations during its recent renovation. The sit-in reportedly continued towards the weekend as the protesters stayed put in the mosque. They refused to leave and the appearance of large cooking stoves and large supplies of food and water last evening suggested many of them were in for the long haul, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.

“The officials have not given us a clear answer. And we plan to carry on until the government makes it clear that it won’t make any changes to the mosque,” the Post quoted a protester as saying.

Chinese officials say the mosque authorities which carried out a renovation in 2015 made it look like a typical mosque from the Middle East and they want its “Arab style” domes to be replaced with Chinese style “pagodas”. This was deemed unacceptable by most members of the community.

“After taking down the domes, the mosque can no longer be an icon of Islam,” said a local man who declined to give his name. “Changing it to a traditional Chinese style is as incongruous as putting the mouth of a horse on the head of an ox,” he told the Post.

While there was no official reaction yet to the act of defiance by the Hui Muslim community, which unlike the Uygur Muslims from Xinjiang province, has a peaceful reputation, state media said no religion can be above the law.

“Chinese people enjoy religious freedom protected by the Constitution of China, the country under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC). No religion shall have the privilege over laws and regulations of the country,” an op-ed in state-run Global Times said today.

“All religious activities should abide by the country’s laws and all religions shall be treated equally,” it said, adding that “to effectively solve the issue, local authorities need to stick to the law and take local people’s feelings and interests into consideration,” it said.

Blaming local officials for allowing the construction, the report said “they need to admit their mistakes and inform the area’s Muslims why it is necessary to take corrective actions in regard to the illegality of the ungranted (unapproved) expansion”.

“When an issue such as this does arise, it is important for Chinese citizens to uphold the authority of the government’s laws and to achieve unity in society. They should also be vigilant against the intervention of foreign forces,” it said.

According to an official white paper released in April, China has about 20 million Muslims with Uygurs and Hui Muslims making up about 10 million each.

China is currently carrying out a massive crackdown against the militant East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) in the volatile Xinjiang province where the majority Uyghurs are restive over increasing settlements of Han Chinese. Compared to Uygurs who are of Turkic origin with ethnic ties to Turkey, Hui Muslims are ethnically Chinese in origin. Most of them speak Mandarin, and apart from the white caps and headscarves worn by the more traditional members of the ethnic group, they are indistinguishable from the majority Han Chinese.

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ABDUL AZIZ SHE…
 - 
Sunday, 12 Aug 2018

ALLAHU AKBAR

 

HasbunAllahu wa nimal wakeel nimal maula nimal naseer

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News Network
July 22,2020

New Delhi, Jul 22: With a spike of 37,724 cases and 648 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the total number of COVID-19 cases in India stands at 11,92,915, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The total number of cases includes 4,11,133 active cases, 7,53,050 cured/discharged/migrated and 28,732 deaths, the Health Ministry informed.

Maharashtra remains the worst affected state with 3,27,031 cases and 12,276 deaths.
The second worst-hit state, Tamil Nadu has reported 1,80,643 COVID-19 cases so far while Delhi has reported 1,25,096 cases, according to the Ministry.

Other states that have witnessed a higher number of COVID-19 positive cases include, Andhra Pradesh with 58,668 cases, Karnataka with 71,069 while Telangana has reported 47,705 COVID-19 positive cases.

Meanwhile, as per the information provided by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the total number of samples tested up to July 21 is 1,47,24, 546 including 3,43,243 samples tested yesterday.

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News Network
June 9,2020

Washington, Jun 9: The defacement of Mahatma Gandhi's statue by unknown miscreants was a "disgrace", US President Donald Trump has said, days after it was vandalised with graffiti and spray painting during the nationwide protests against the custodial killing of African-American George Floyd.

The statue, which is across the road from the Indian Embassy, was vandalised on the intervening night of June 2 and 3, prompting the Indian embassy to register a complaint with the local law enforcement agencies.

The incident happened during the week of nationwide protests against the custodial killing of Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25.

"It was a disgrace," Trump made the brief comment at the White House on Monday when asked about the incident.

The Indian Embassy here has taken up the matter with the US Department of State for early investigation into the matter, as also with the Metropolitan Police and National Park Service.

It is working with the US Department of State, Metropolitan Police and National Park Service for expeditious restoration of the statue at the park.

The US president and First Lady Melania Trump, during their visit to India in February, had spent considerable time at the Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had personally given them a tour of the historic place.

"The First Lady and I have just had a pleasure of visiting Mahatma Gandhi's Ashram, a few miles from here, where he launched the famous Salt March," Trump had said during his address at the Namaste Trump rally at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 24. A day later, Trump and the first lady also laid a wreath at Raj Ghat in New Delhi.

Pictures of Trump and the first lady with Gandhi's spinning wheel during their visit to the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad are seen hanging on the walls of the White House.

Last week, top US lawmakers and the Trump Campaign condemned the vandalisation of the statue.

"Very disappointing," tweeted Kimberly Guilfoyle, advisor to Donald J Trump for President Inc. and National Chair of the Trump Victory Finance Committees.

North Carolina Senator Tom Tillis said, "It's disgraceful to see the defacing of the Gandhi statue" in Washington DC.

"Gandhi was a pioneer of peaceful protesting, demonstrating the great change it can bring. Rioting, looting and vandalising do not bring us together, he said.

Senator Marco Rubio said, "more evidence that violent radicals and run of the mill crazies have hijacked legitimate protests to create anarchy or for their own purposes."

Protests against the custodial killing of Floyd turned violent in the US and prestigious monuments were damaged. In Washington DC, protestors burnt a historic church and damaged monuments like the Lincoln Memorial.

US Ambassador to India Ken Juster apologised for the incident.

"So sorry to see the desecration of the Gandhi statue in Wash, DC. Please accept our sincere apologies," he said.

"Appalled as well by the horrific death of George Floyd and the awful violence and vandalism. We stand against prejudice & discrimination of any type. We will recover and be better," he said in a tweet last week.

One of the few statues of a foreign leader on a federal land in Washington DC, the statue of Gandhi was dedicated by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the presence of the then US president Bill Clinton on September 16, 2000, during his state visit to the US.

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News Network
March 9,2020

Mumbai, Mar 9: India's Yes Bank will not be merged with State Bank of India, which is set to infuse funds in the beleaguered lender, the newly appointed administrator leading the rescue plan said in a television interview on Monday.

"There is absolutely no question of a merger," Prashant Kumar, the administrator, told the CNBC TV18 channel.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday took control of Yes Bank, after the lender - which is laden with bad debts - failed to raise the capital it needs to stay above mandated regulatory requirements.

Placing Yes Bank under a 30-day moratorium, the central bank imposed limits on withdrawals to protect depositors and said it would work on a revival plan. The move spooked depositors, who rushed to withdraw funds from the bank.

Kumar, a former finance chief at SBI, assured depositors their money was safe and that the moratorium on Yes Bank might be lifted much before the deadline on April 3 and normal banking operations might resume as early as Friday.

He also mentioned that the withdrawal limit of Yes Bank may be removed by March 15, 2020.

SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar said on Saturday the state-run bank would need to invest up to 24.5 billion rupees ($331 million) to buy a 49% stake in Yes Bank as part of the initial phase of the rescue deal, adding that the survival of troubled lender was a "must".

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