Mogadishu: Ethiopian tanks rumbled south from Mogadishu to attack Somali Islamists yesterday after the religious movement's leaders called on fighters and residents in the port city of Kismayo to cast off a foreign "occupation".
Shaikh Sharif Ahmad, whose forces fled the Somali capital on Thursday, urged thousands of people gathered at a Kismayo stadium for Eid Al Adha to defend their nation and faith from Somali government troops backed by armour, soldiers and jet fighter planes from mostly Christian Ethiopia.
"Our country is under occupation so we have decided to fight," he told the crowd as Islamist troops on trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns stood guard outside.
Excerpted
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Somalia/10093343.html
Pilgrims begin ritual of stoning the devil
December 31, 2006
Mina: More than two million Muslim pilgrims began the symbolic stoning of the devil yesterday, that puts to test new safety measures at a stage of the Haj that has seen tragedy in the past.
But the rites were overshadowed by the news that former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussain, a hero to many Sunni Arabs because of his anti-US stance, had been executed at dawn by the US-backed Shiite government.
Security fears were already high during this Haj season because of sectarian strife between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in Iraq and elsewhere in the region.
Many Sunni Arabs were angered by the news but some Iraqi pilgrims were celebrating both Saddam's death and the Eid Al Adha, or Feast of Sacrifice, that began yesterday. "Congratulations, this is like two Eids! I hope God will not have mercy on him," said Iraqi pilgrim Nadir Abdullah.
The stoning ritual at the Jamarat Bridge - when pilgrims symbolically cast out the devil - begins on Eid Al Adha, the third day of the gruelling 5-day Haj which is a duty for all able-bodied Muslims who can afford it. With such large crowds, Saudi Arabia deploys more than 50,000 security men to try to avoid deadly stampedes, as well as attacks by extremists.
The authorities are also worried over political protests which security forces have broken up by force in the past. "The Haj rites are not the place for slogans, postures and name-calling," top Saudi cleric Shaikh Abdul Aziz Al Al Shaikh warned in a sermon at Mount Arafat on Friday.
Excerpted
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Saudi_Arabia/10093341.html
By Sher Zieve – British Muslims are refusing to wash their hands with required anti-bacterial disinfectant gels. The Muslims are protesting the practice on religious grounds, as the gels contain alcohol.
Anti-bacterial gels are used in hospitals to guard against “superbugs”, including Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and Periventricular Leukomalacia (PVL). British healthcare workers said they were shocked to discover the practice of Muslims refusing to disinfect their hands before entering patient rooms.
NHS care assistant Theresa Poupa at London Chest Hospital said: “I could not believe it. The signs are large enough and clear enough but they [Muslim workers] just took no notice and walked straight onto the ward! I was there almost every day for three weeks and I saw it repeated dozens and dozens of times. When I raised the matter with the nursing staff they just shrugged and said that Muslims were refusing to use the gel because it contained alcohol.”
http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/21569.html
Hezbollah Reaching Pre-War Force
December 30, 2006
Hezbollah in Lebanon is reported to be close to its pre-war with Israel strength. The terrorist group is also reported to be receiving consistent shipments of traditional and advanced weapons from Syria.
Although United Nations troops are currently in Lebanon, the Syrian-transferred weapons have been unconcealed. Regular truckloads of armaments are said to be crossing the Syrian-Lebanon border. Often, this has been on a daily basis.
An Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) officer commented: "Hezbollah needs to legitimize its existence, and therefore will continue to fight.” He said that it is only a matter of time before the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah resume and added: "If the Lebanese government does not implement the [UN] resolution then we are most probably on our way to another round with Hizbullah.”