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Terror attack on mosque: Double standard of govt, media slammed

Agencies
August 6, 2017

Social media users have voiced frustration at what they described as a double standard after a mosque was bombed in the US.

The explosion at around 5am local time (09:00 GMT) at the Dar Al Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, caused damage but did not cause any casualties.

Worshippers had been preparing for the dawn prayer when the attack happened.

There were between 15 and 20 people inside the building at the time, according to Star Tribune, a local newspaper.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has sent agents to track down who was behind the attack, which it says was caused by an "Improvised Explosive Device".

The mosque, like many others in the US, received threats of attack prior to the bombing.

For many the response, or lack of it, revealed a double standard.

Some questioned why US President Donald Trump failed to respond to what they described as a "terrorist attack" targeting Muslims.

Mark Follman, an editor at the progressive-leaning Mother Jones magazine, said Trump's silence was due to the target of the attack.

"In normal times, the bombing of a house of worship with an IED would not go unacknowledged by the president of the United States," he continued, after posting a list of previous attacks committed by far-right attackers that Trump had also not responded to.

Marty Parrish asked: "Did I miss Trump's statement of concern for the victims of this bombing and members of the Mosque?" Adding: "Does he care?"

But Trump was not the sole target of anger, with some railing against the purported lack of media coverage.

Some US-based outlets did publish stories on the attack, but that did not assuage the anger.

A Twitter user named Brown Saraah wrote: "Someone bombed a mosque in Minnesota recently. You probably didn't hear about this because mainstream media likes to demonize Muslims."

Activist Simran Jeet Singh accused the media of avoiding the term "terrorism". 

"Are you kidding with this headline right now? Can you not cal it terrorism because Muslims were the targets? Why the double-standard?" He said, in response to a New York Times article, which used the term "explosion" to describe the attack. 

As with other recent attacks, well-wishers were quick to make donations to the mosque to help it repair damage to the mosque. 

By the time of publishing, hundreds of people had donated a total of $12,000 to repair the damage on two fundraising pages.

The latest attack comes amid rising Islamophobic sentiment.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has said that discrimination against Muslims swelled during the 2016 election campaign and has continued to rise following Trump's election victory.

The US president campaigned on a platform that promised a blanket ban on Muslims entering the country, as he vowed to closely monitor mosques.

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News Network
July 2,2020

Washington, Jul 2: Former US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, on Wednesday (local time) hailed India's action to ban 59 apps linked to Chinese firms including Tik Tok and said New Delhi is continuing to show it will not back down from China's aggression.

"Good to see India banning 59 popular apps owned by Chinese firms, including TikTok, which counts India as one of its largest markets. India is continuing to show it won't back down from China's aggression," Haley tweeted.

The Indian government on Monday announced that it had decided to block 59 apps in view of the information available that "they are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, the security of the state and public order".

Information Technology Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the government has banned the apps for the safety, security, defense, sovereignty, and integrity of India.

Haley'='s remarks come after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed India''s ban on the Chinese apps and stressed that the move would "boost India''s integrity and national security".

"We welcome India''s ban on certain mobile apps. India''s clean app approach will boost India's sovereignty and boost integrity and national security," Pompeo said.

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News Network
July 2,2020

Geneva, Jul 2: The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated the overall number of coronavirus cases globally at 10,357,662, with 508,055 people having died from the disease.

The UN health agency said in the situation report published on late Wednesday that 163,939 new cases had been recorded in the past day, while further 4,188 patients had died.

Americas continue to lead the count with over 5.2 million cases, followed by Europe with more than 2.7 million.

The WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11.

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Agencies
January 25,2020

Pentagon, Jan 25: Thirty-four US troops had been diagnosed with concussions and traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a result of the January 8 Iranian missile attack on two military bases in Iraq housing American soldiers, the Pentagon said.

"Eight service members who were previously transported to Germany have been brought to the US, they would continue to receive treatment in the US either at Walter Reed or their home bases," Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman told the media on Friday.

Hoffman said that nine service members were still undergoing treatment in Germany, and the rest of the 17 injured troops have already returned to duty in Iraq, reports Xinhua news agency.

Lat week, the US military had said that 11 service members were treated for concussion symptoms due to the missile attacks.

Hoffman noted that the symptoms "are late developing and manifested over a period of time".

In retaliation for the killing of Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani in an American drone attack on January 3 in Baghdad, Tehran launched over 13 ballistic missiles on the two military bases in Anbar and near the city of Erbil.

US military initially said that no casualty was reported from the Iranian attack. President Donald Trump then downplayed the seriousness of those injures.

"I heard that they had headaches and a couple of other things, but I would say and I can report that it's not very serious," Trump told reporters on Wednesday at a press conference in Davos, Switzerland.

More than 5,000 US troops are deployed in Iraq to support the country's forces in the battle against Islamic State militants.

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