Mogadishu - Government forces have incarcerated at least seven Pakistani men, who were preaching people praying in a mosque near the presidential palace of Villa Somalia where President Abdulahi Yusuf is staying currently. The religious men known as Tabliq (Preachers or missioners) always traveled to every part of the country to preach people about Islam.
Abdulkadir Abdi Dahir, a resident Hamar Jajab, where the incident took place, told Shabelle that residents suddenly rallied at the area to protest against the government forces who took the men in a car. “The police force have dispersed us and they told us they would investigate the men’s identity and motive in the country”, he said. Tabliq are known to be linked to no political group or particular religious organization. The government was not available for comments over the issue.
http://www.shabelle.net/news/ne2040.htm
China says militants still at large in northwest
09 Jan 2007
BEIJING - China said on Tuesday that the hunt was still on for terrorists at large, adding they had links to international forces, a day after it disclosed details of a massive raid in its Central Asian border region of Xinjiang. Police killed 18 people the government described as terrorists and captured another 17 in the raid on a training camp in the Pamirs plateau in southern Xinjiang that it said was run by the East Turkestan Islamic Movement.
"At present, some terrorists are still at large. The Public Security department is pursuing them," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a regular news conference. "We have evidence that East Turkestan groups are connecting with international terrorist forces and plan to conduct terrorist activities," he said.
Oil-rich Xinjiang is home to 8 million Uighurs, a Turkic, largely Islamic people, many of whom resent the growing Han Chinese presence in the region and government controls on their religion and culture.
Excerpted
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/PEK140905.htm
Iran: Ahmadinejad To Embark On South American Tour
9 Jan. 2007
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is preparing to leave Tehran on Friday for a tour of Latin America which will lead him to Venezuela, Nicaragua and Ecuador. Ahmadinejad, who had already visited the region in September, is scheduled to land Saturday morning in the Venezuelan capital Caracas where he will be greeted by president Hugo Chavez, his closest ally in South America.
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http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.374799865&par=0
Sarajevo) - The Bosnian authorities have revoked the citizenship granted to 330 foreigners during the 1992-1995 Bosnian civil war, the president of Bosnia's ad hoc state commission, Vjekoslav Vukovic, said on Tuesday. The commission has in the past seven months examined over 900 cases with a further 500 still to be scrutinised before the commission winds up its work next month, Vukovic told Dnevni avaz daily. Foreigners from African, Asian and European countries have lost their Bosnian citizenship because they had breached immigration procedures, Vukovic stated.
Russians, Ukrainians, Moldavians and individuals from Switzerland, Sweden and European Union countries were among those who have lost their Bosnian citizenship, Vukovic said. He denied claims by some naturalised Bosnian citizens that they were being persecuted for political reasons. The authorities previously stated that those stripped of their Bosnian citizenship will be deported.
The government was forced to form the special commission for the revision of citizenship due to international pressure following intelligence reports that some mujahadeen from Muslim countries who fought on the side of local Muslims have remained in the country and may be linked to al-Qaeda and other Islamist terrorist organisations. Thousands of foreign fighers or 'mujahadeen' came to Bosnia during the civil war and many have remained in the country, marrying local women and acquiring Bosnian citizenship.
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.374678286&par=0
Italy: Egypt-Born TV Presenter Blames Islamists For Arson Attack
9 Jan. 2007
An Egyptian-born television presenter in Italy, Mohammed Ahmad said Tuesday he believes "Islamist extremists" torched his car in an overnight attack. Ahmad told Adnkronos International (AKI) said he believes he was targeted for promoting moderate Islam. "It was two o'clock at night [on Monday] when a loud sound followed by police sirens woke me up. It was firefighters who has come to put out the blaze. That's when I understood that it was my car that was on fire." Ahmad said.
Ahmad, who became an Italian citizen more than 20 years ago, presents a programme on Padua-based private channel La8 dealing with immigration and cultural integration issues. "I believe it was Islamic extremists. In the past I have reported to the police certain individuals living in the area who are linked to Islamic extremism," said Ahmad adding that he had received threats from these people.
He added that another reason behind the attack could be because he invites "Jewish and Leghisti (members of Italy's anti-immigration Northerl League party) friends" to his programme on La8.
After news of the attack had emerged Ahmad received a message of support from a member of an Italian-government appointed advisory body on Muslim issues, the Consulta. Souad Sbai, who is also head of the Confederation of Moroccans in Italy condemned the attack and said it was "the reason why so many moderate Muslims don't want to appear on TV or at public demonstraions.
"They are afraid to appear because of the retaliation they may face," she said adding that as a Consulta member: "I call on Interior Minister Giuliano Amato to invervene in defence of the moderates to guarantee their freedom of expression."
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.374640168&par=0