Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has condemned the raid on Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli forces and termed it blatant aggression against innocent people.
“Condemnable raid on Al-Aqsa Mosque & escalation of violence by Israel in gross violation of HR & humanitarian laws. We stand in solidarity with the Palestinians. Time for the international community to protect innocent Palestinian lives, and uphold international law & UN Charter,” he tweeted.
Condemnable raid on Al-Aqsa Mosque & escalation of violence by Israel in gross violation of HR & humanitarian laws. We stand in solidarity with the Palestinians. Time for international community to protect innocent Palestinian lives, and uphold international law & UN Charter.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson has also expressed its grave concern over the latest developments in various parts of the occupied Palestinian territories.
“This highly condemnable assault on worshippers, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, is an egregious violation of all humanitarian norms and human rights laws,” read a statement issued from the ministry.
“In recent weeks, Israeli forces have killed dozens and injured countless Palestinians in the occupied East Jerusalem and other areas. This escalation of violence by Israeli forces in the Palestinian territories is deplorable,” it added.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) condemned the “heinous and cowardly” terrorist attack in Peshawar at a mosque on Friday (March 4). The attack was claimed by the Islamic State-Khurasan (IS-K).
The statement on Sunday said that the UNSC members expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims and the Pakistani government.
Ambassador Munir Akram @PakistanPR_UN thanked the SG @antonioguterres ; the @UNAOC ; the Security Council esp China @ChinaAmbUN for proposing the #SC press statement, & UAE for securing consensus on it & issuing the statement to condemn the terrorist attack in Peshawar. https://t.co/vJl3L03dYk
— Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN (@PakistanUN_NY) March 6, 2022
“I condemn the horrific attack on a mosque in Peshawar during Friday prayers. My condolences to those who lost loved ones, and my solidarity with the people of Pakistan,” UN Secretary General António Guterres tweeted on Friday.
Houses of worship should be havens, not targets.
I condemn today’s horrific attack on a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan, during Friday prayers.
My condolences to those who have lost loved ones, and my solidarity with the people of Pakistan.
Police have arrested four men charged with blasphemy in the village of Khodi Khushal Singh after an argument with a religious cleric (Imam), a local police official Faryad reported to Al Jazeera.
The initial police report says that men, who were Muslim, argued with the cleric after he refused to make a funeral announcement for a Christian man from his mosque.
“As soon as they arrived [at the mosque], they started cursing the mosque’s imam, disrespected the mosque, and insulted Islam,” read the report. The four men were charged under sections 295 and 298 of Pakistan’s penal code, which carries penalties of up to two years in prison.
Pakistani human rights activists have condemned the case against these four men.
“If there was a Muslim who in good faith wants to have an announcement such as this made in the community, it’s not an attack on someone’s faith, it’s a good cause,” said human rights activist and lawyer Nadeem Anthony. He raised the question that if someone announces a funeral on a loudspeaker, how is it a religious violation?
Pakistan has never executed a convict under the blasphemy laws, but accusations of the offense have led to murders by individuals who take the law into their own hands. Several months ago, a policeman in Sadiqabad killed a man, who was charged with blasphemy.
A farmworker’s family from the Hindu community was allegedly tortured by some village landlords for “violating the sanctity” of the mosque after they obtained water from a mosque’s tap, Dawn reported.
The incident happened a few days back when Alam Ram Bheel, a resident of Basti Kahoor Khan in the city suburbs, was picking raw cotton (phutti) with his family members, including his wife, in a field of Chak 106-P.
Ram said his family went to a nearby mosque to fetch water to drink from a tap, after which some local landlords and their men beat them up. When the family was going back home after unloading the picked cotton, the landlords held them hostage at their dera (outhouse) and beat them again.
Later, some Muslim residents of Basti Kahoor Khan got the Bheel family released.
Ram Bheel said the Airport police station did not file the case as the people who attacked were related to a local PTI parliamentarian.
Ram said he held a sit-in outside the police station to protest the arrogance.
Also a member of the district peace committee, Peter Jhon Bheel told Dawn that they approached PTI MNA Javed Warriach who helped them register the FIR on Friday.
Jhon said he requested other members of the district peace committee to discuss the issue in a meeting but they did not take him seriously.
PTI’s South Punjab Minority Wing Secretary General Yodhister Chohan told Dawn that he knew about the incident but due to the influence of a ruling party MP, he preferred to stay away.
District Police Officer Asad Sarfraz said that he was looking into the matter.
Deputy Commissioner Dr Khuram Shehzad said he would meet Hindu minority elders on Monday (today) before taking any action.
Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City demolished three buildings and killed at least 33 people on Sunday, including12 women and eight children. This has been one of the deadliest attacks since the start of the recent attacks against Palestinians by the Israeli forces.
On May 12, Israeli airstrikes a building in Gaza that housed the offices of 14 media organisations. According to a report in TRT World, on May 7 and May 10, Israeli security forces fired rubber bullets and injured at least eight Palestinian and international journalists covering the protests at the Temple Mount complex and Al Aqsa mosque.
Yesterday, Israeli forces a building in Gaza that housed several media outlets, including Al Jazeera and the Associated Press (AP). A statement by AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt said: “We are shocked and horrified that the Israeli military would target and destroy the building housing AP’s bureau and other news organisations in Gaza.” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki tweeted that the US government “communicated directly to the Israelis that ensuring the safety and security of journalists and independent media is a paramount responsibility”.
These words by the White House Press Secretary sound hollow because ever since the Israelis started attacking hapless Palestinians during the Holy month of Ramzan, the international community, especially the US, has not condemned Israel for its aggression. We did not hear the US or others condemn the attack on journalists when Arab journalists in Palestine were being attacked by the Israeli forces. The way the Al Aqsa mosque was stormed by the Israeli forces during the final Friday prayers in Ramzan, the way the unarmed Palestinians were sprayed with rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas, the world community should have condemned it unequivocally. But what do we hear: US President Joe Biden saying: “Israel has a right to defend itself.” There was no mention of how Israel is an occupying force that will continue to attack and kill unarmed civilians, including children.
In a report released last month, the Human Rights Watch said Israeli authorities are committing crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution. The 213-page report titled, ‘A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution’, should be read by every world leader in order to understand the gravity of the situation. Today, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has opened an emergency meeting over the situation in Palestine. Several countries that are part of the OIC have recently had recognition deals with Israel. No wonder we have seen a muted response from those countries. Pakistan has been asking the world to come to the aid of Palestine and stop this madness. Unfortunately, the world has become a silent spectator when it comes to Israel’s war crimes. Silence is not an option. We all must speak up for Palestine.
City managers have decided to restore a historic mosque near Lotus Lake in Shakarparian.
According to details, the mosque is believed to be over 100 years old. It was a worship place for villagers of Pairan, who migrated from the area in the 1960s during Islamabad’s development.
Like Pairan, many villagers from Islamabad moved to Rawalpindi and other parts of the capital after getting compensation from Capital Development Authority (CDA) for their homes and land.
“During construction of Lotus Lake, when we carried out cleanliness operation and removed bushes etc., we found an abandoned mosque,” said Environment Director Irfan Niazi, adding construction material of the mosque suggested that it was built over 100 years ago. The banyan tree located in the mosque’s courtyard is believed to be 500 years old.
CDA Chairman Amer Ali Ahmed said that the authority will restore this historical mosque. “I have already directed my team to take steps for restoration of this mosque, which is also our heritage,” he said.
He further said that the construction of the lake is in its last stage and will soon be a new facility for tourists.
There was a natural lotus lake in the area which diminished during the construction of a cultural complex between 2004-5. CDA is now constructing the lake at a new place near the Natural History Museum. The new Lotus Lake is 100ft long and 68ft wide.
Hundreds of thousands of Muslims from different countries live in Athens but the city has not had a formal mosque since the Ottomans were forced to leave nearly 200 years ago.
Plans to construct a mosque in Athens began in 1890 yet it took decades for them to materialise due to opposition from a predominantly Christian Orthodox population and nationalists, sluggish bureaucracy but most recently a decade-long financial crisis.
Amid a coronavirus outbreak, only a limited number of worshippers, wearing masks and sitting at a distance from each other due to COVID-19 restrictions, attended prayers.
“It is a historic moment for the Muslim community living in Athens, we have been waiting for this mosque for so long,” said Heider Ashir, a member of the mosque’s governing council. “Thanks to God, finally, we have a mosque that is open and we can pray here freely.”
But other Muslims were unhappy with the mosque’s appearance. A grey, rectangular structure with no dome or minaret, has no resemblance to other graceful, ornate mosques in Europe.
“It does not at all look like a place of worship, it is a small, square, miserable building,” said Naim El Ghandour, head of the Muslim Association of Greece. “We thank them very much for the offer, but we will fight to reach it to the level that we deserve.”
At the entrance of an Istanbul mosque, racks usually reserved for the shoes of the faithful are loaded with pasta packages, oil bottles, biscuits — like a supermarket. But they aren’t for sale. Instead, they are destined for the needy, hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
The sign on the mosque’s window ask anyone, who can, to leave something, and says those in need can take something.
Abdulsamet Cakir, 33, imam of the Dedeman mosque in the Sariyer district, came up with this idea of reaching out to the poor via the place of worship after Turkey suspended mass prayers in mosques until the risk of outbreak passes, AFP reported.
The young imam, who takes the products from the floor and places them on the shelves at the entrance, said he was inspired by a donation culture in the Ottoman period called “charity stone” — a small pillar stone erected at certain locations of the city to connect rich people with the poor.
In this Ottoman system aimed at giving charity in a dignified manner without offending the needy, people with means would leave whatever amount they wanted in a cavity on the top of the charity stone. Those who were in need would then take the amount they needed and leave the rest for others.
“After the coronavirus pandemic, we have thought about what we can do to help our brothers in need,” said Cakir, who would already help the poor in his neighbourhood before the outbreak.
“With the inspiration from our ancestors’ ‘charity stone’ culture, we decided to fill the racks in our mosque with the help from our brothers with means,” he added.
Cakir hangs a list on the wall of the mosque where citizens who need help write their names and telephone numbers.
The imam later sends the list to local authorities who check whether the names are really in need and his team then sends a message that they can visit the mosque and receive whatever they need: eight items at maximum.
The mosque has been providing services for two weeks and reaches out to 120 people in need per day. And the list includes over 900 people.
A maximum of two people wearing masks and gloves enter the mosque and take what they need, while others wait outside, standing a few paces from each other.
“We spread the services through the day. We call 15 people for each half an hour so that we respect social distancing and do not cause big queues,” the imam said. “We are doing our best to help our sisters and brothers in the best possible way without offending them.”
The mosque does not accept cash donations and instead receives aid packages and the mosques shelves are full of products sent from all over Turkey and even abroad.
“Producers also donate. A miller brings in flour, a baker brings in bread, a water distributor brings in water,” Cakir said, adding, “Everyone does whatever they can to help people in need. For example, a brother who lives in France did online shopping and directed the aid to our mosque.”
People, receiving the aid, are very thankful to the mosque for arranging this service. They said that due to the coronavirus lockdown, they are facing unemployment and with Ramzan a few days away, the situation appeared to be very bleak.
Turkey’s official death toll from the virus now stands at 2,259 after 119 more deaths were reported on Tuesday, and major cities including Istanbul will be under lockdown for four days from Thursday.
At least one cop, a woman SHO [Station House Officer], sustained injuries after a clash between local police and worshippers erupted outside a mosque in Karachi on Friday.
According to the details, the clash took place outside Haqqani Masjid located in the Peerabad locality of the port city as people flocked to the mosque for Friday prayers despite a government ban and complete lockdown across the metropolis on account of the coronavirus pandemic.
A video available with The Current showed the enraged injured cop, namely Sharafat [as per her nameplate], shouting at the police personnel for arriving late, and sharing how the mob took an attempt on her life.
“They broke my glasses,” she can be heard as saying while also instructing her staff to initiate legal proceedings.
The video also showed hundreds of worshippers exiting the mosque.
WATCH VIDEO:
Earlier in the day, Sindh Minister for Information Nasir Hussain Shah said that the ban on congregational prayers across the province will be strictly followed for Friday prayers.
Shah requested that people pray at their homes and limit their movements outside from 12 pm to 3 pm in the afternoon. He also asked citizens to cooperate with law enforcement authorities in this regard.
“The purpose of the measures being adopted is to protect the people against the coronavirus,” he said, adding that the lockdown would actually make the lives of people safer in the long run.
“The restriction of the prayer congregations has been enforced to protect the lives of citizens,” Shah clarified. “The religious leaders have backed the efforts made by the Sindh government in this regard,” he added.
Sindh with 1,214 COVID-19 infections is trailing far behind Punjab where the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus has reached 2,280 — highest in the country.
While the number of infections across Pakistan has reached 4,688 with at least 68 deaths, people still do not appear to be taking government-imposed lockdowns seriously.
After a gap of over two decades, women in Peshawar will now be able to offer Friday prayer in congregation at the historic Sunheri Masjid (Golden Mosque).
According to reports, women would offer Friday prayer in congregation at the mosque, located in the Peshawar Cantonment, until the mid-1990s. However, due to terrorism in the city, the practice was abandoned.
Following an improvement in the security situation, authorities have decided to allow women to participate in Friday’s congregational prayers and have also made the required arrangements for it.
A banner which reads “women are now welcome to offer Friday prayer at Sunheri Masjid” has also been placed outside the mosque.
Scores of terrorist attacks took place near the mosque which led to its closure for women almost 25 years ago. In 2016, 16 people were killed and dozens wounded when a powerful bomb went off as a bus carrying mostly government employees passed by the mosque in Saddar’s crowded marketplace.
