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The two men were reported to have discussed on Tuesday the situation of Saudi Arabia’s Christian minority, the need for greater inter-faith collaboration and prospects for peace in the Middle East.

They spoke for about half an hour in Benedict’s private study with the help of interpreters in what both the Vatican and reporters described as a cordial atmosphere.

A Vatican statement said “the presence and hard work of Christians [in Saudi Arabia] was discussed”.

Vatican sources said before the meeting that they expected Benedict to raise his concern over the situation of Catholics and other Christians in Saudi Arabia.

Greater rights

The Vatican wants greater rights for the one million Catholics who live in Saudi Arabia, most of them migrant workers who are not allowed to practise their religion in public.

They are only allowed to worship in private places, usually homes, and cannot wear signs of their faith in public.

The Vatican said other topics discussed included inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue and “collaboration among Christians, Muslims and Jews for the promotion of peace, justice and spiritual and moral values, especially those which support the family”.

Benedict and Abdullah also discussed the Middle East, particularly the need to find “a just solution to the conflicts that afflict the region, in particular the Israeli-Palestinian [conflict]”.

Many Muslims around the world protested last year after Benedict, speaking at a university in his native Germany, used a quote that associated Islam with violence.

He later said he was misunderstood and has several times expressed esteem for Muslims.

Minority request

At the end of the meeting, Abdullah gave Benedict a gold and silver sword studded with precious jewels, in keeping with a bedouin custom the Saudis follow when foreign leaders visit their country.

The king also presented Benedict with a small silver and gold statue depicting a palm tree and a man riding a camel.

In an interview with Reuters on the eve of the meeting, the bishop in charge of Catholics in Saudi Arabia called on the country to guarantee more freedom and security for minority Christians and allow more priests in to minister to the faithful.

“What I am hoping is that there can be more security and freedom for our people in a very low profile manner,” Paul Hinder, a Swiss bishop who is based in Abu Dhabi, said.

“I am not expecting to be able to build a cathedral. But at least [we need] the freedom to worship in security.”

Mubarak rejects foreign pressure
November 07, 2007 - 01:37

Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, has said he opposes any interference in his country’s affairs from abroad.

His comments came during a speech to close his ruling party’s annual conference in which he also called on his government to do more to address the problems of Egypt’s poor.

“We protect Egypt’s sovereignty and independence and reject any pressure and conditions, and we refuse any interference in our affairs,” Mubarak told 6,000 delegates from his National Democratic Party (NDP) in Cairo on Tuesday.

The president’s comments are an apparent reference to proposed US legislation to cut the country’s aid unless it stops committing human-rights abuses.

Help the poor

Earlier this year, the US House of Representatives proposed legislation that would withhold $200 million in military aid until Cairo takes steps to curb police abuse, reform its judicial system and stop arms smuggling into the neighbouring Gaza Strip.

Egypt receives $1.3bn worth of military aid from the US annually, along with large amounts of civilian aid, the second largest recipient of American aid in the world after Israel.

Though Egypt has been critical of the proposed legislation, the Bush administration in recent years has largely backed down from pushing Egypt towards what it calls democratic reform.

Mubarak, who turns 80 next year, also used his speech to urge his government to do more to help his country’s lower-income families who are suffering from rampant inflation induced by new economic policies.

“Social justice is an essential pillar of our general policy,” he said.

But the four-day conference offered few surprises and no major leadership reshuffle. It gave few indications of what the party, or Egypt, would look like after Mubarak, who has ruled Egypt for more than 25 years, leaves office.

Mubarak’s son Gamal on Monday deflected a renewed spate of questioning as to whether he would eventually take over the reins of power from his father.

Son and heir?

The 43-year-old former investment banker, who heads the party’s powerful politburo, said he was focused solely on parliamentary elections due to be held in three years time.

Nevertheless, NDP members voted on Saturday to create a “higher committee” widely perceived as putting Gamal a step closer to the presidency.

The body will nominate the party’s next presidential candidate and incorporates the influential policies secretariat which Gamal heads.

Without the committee, the NDP could only have put Hosni Mubarak forward for the next presidential election in 2011.

Muslims Defend Sydney School
November 07, 2007 - 01:37

SYDNEY — Sydney Muslims defended on Tuesday, November 6, plans to build an Islamic school to accommodate the educational needs of a large Muslim minority, despite a fierce opposition campaign.

“The Qur’anic Society has no association with any militant group,” Jeremy Bingham, spokesman for the organization sponsoring the project, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The Sydney-based society has proposed building a 1,200-place school in Camden, a satellite town southwest of Sydney.

The move, however, drew strong opposition from residents, councilors and local lawmakers.

“Let the people decide,” said Emil Frenchevich, the organizer of a meeting that brought together around 1,000 people.

“It’s more an issue of council consulting with the local people in their area to be able to have a say in what goes in their area,” added Sydney lawmaker Pat Farmer.

Camden Mayor Chris Patterson said 284 submissions had been made to the city council against the proposal.

Education

Bingham said his society had not been invited to Monday’s meeting, adding that the council had no grounds to reject the application as all planning requirements had been met.

He insisted that the proposed school would simply help accommodate the area’s growing Muslim population.

“Their aim is to provide a school where their kids can get a proper education as well as religious instruction.”

Large parts of southern Sydney are now heavily populated by Middle Eastern migrants, many of them Iraqi Muslims.

Muslims, estimated at 300,000, make up 1.5 percent of Australia’s population of 20 millions.

Islam is the second largest religion after Christianity.

A recent governmental report has revealed that the Muslim minority is facing deep-seated Islamophobia and race-based treatment like never before.

Muslims blame the incumbent John Howard government for fostering an image of the minority as the enemy within.

US Still a Great Place to Practice Islam’
November 07, 2007 - 01:37

COLUMBUS, Ohio, 7 November 2007 — The Interfaith Association of Central Ohio held a public forum on the “Many faces of Islam” at the Ohio State House. A large number of people from different religions attended. Four panelists shared their experiences and challenges of being a Muslim in America especially after Sept. 11. The panelists included Dr. Robert Crane, a former adviser to Nixon, Dr. Anisa Abd El Fattah, founder and chairperson of the National Association of Muslim American Women, Dr. Zulfiqar Shah, an executive member of the Fiqh Council of North America, and Imam Mostafa Al-Qazwini, director of the Islamic education center of Orange County, California. All panelists felt that America was a great place to practice Islam despite the challenges they faced after Sept. 11. “I lived in six different countries after leaving Iraq where 15 of my family members were killed by Saddam,” Imam Mostafa Al-Qazwini said, “but America is the best place to practice Islam. After Sept. 11, I felt like I should go back to Iraq. We, Muslims suffered twice. The (sight) of the buildings collapsing was like our homes collapsing. And later on we were accused. Our children were asked why your parents attacked America. It was a test for us. I decided to stay and fight against the stereotyping of Muslims and the narrow mindedness of the people.” Dr. Shah said that he felt more secure in America than anywhere else. “Unfortunately when I go to Pakistan for a visit, my father says, let’s hurry up and get home and don’t go to too many public places because it is unsafe. But now, when the plane lands in the US, I want to hurry up and leave the airport. I feel like a visiting head of state. I have 17 police officers welcoming me; they go through my entire luggage at customs. I made America my home because here everyone is treated with true dignity, unlike in most Muslim countries.” Dr. Crane felt that things were gradually changing for the better for the Muslims after Sept. 11. “I am concerned about the radical Muslims who have harmed the image of Islam. We should explain Islam as the scholars have.” Dr. Anisa Abd El Fattah said that America was a great country, one of the few where there were no religious wars or persecution. “But now I am ashamed of the US. We never had such xenophobia. Our church had never been as powerful as it is today, yet today we have become the most hateful and malicious people in the world. We are people just like you, I ask you to understand us, give us space and not be so judgmental.” Participants showed a lot of enthusiasm by asking questions ranging from why Muslims prayed five times a day to which translation of the Qur’an was the best. Dr. Crane (who became Muslim in 1981 and was made ambassador to the UAE under President Reagan but fired by the then Secretary of State, Alexander Haig) told Arab News, “I feel it was because I became a Muslim but I was never told that officially.” Dr. Crane said the Arabic word “daraba” used in the Qur’an has 17 different meanings ranging from striking to separating. He felt that Islam did not condone wife beating. Dr. Anisa Fattah felt that a lot of men thought daraba meant beating because it was something they were doing anyway and did not want to change. Dr. Zulfiqar Shah said that the Qur’an never criticized the Jews or the Christians as is the common misconception. “Qur’an has always criticized the evil doers among the Jews, the Christians and for that matter among the Muslims.”

“We lost five soldiers yesterday in two unfortunate incidents, both involving IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices),” US military spokesman Rear Admiral Greg Smith told reporters in Baghdad on Tuesday, November 6.

One soldier was killed while conducting combat operations in Al-Anbar Province while the four others died as a result of an explosion near their vehicle in the Kirkuk.

In a separate statement, American forces said a sailor died Tuesday of wounds he sustained from an explosion while conducting operations in Salahuddin province a day earlier.

The deaths took the number of US soldiers killed in Iraq this year to 852, according to icasualties.org, an independent website that monitors US troop deaths in Iraq.

The worst previous year was 2004 with 849 recorded military deaths.

In total, 3,855 US soldiers have been killed since the 2003 US-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.

Deadliest May

The deadliest month so far in 2007 was May, with 126 US soldiers killed, according to icasualties.

It noted that October recorded the lowest death toll since March 2006 with 38 US soldiers killed.

The American military reached its highest troop levels in Iraq this year with 165,000.

This came after President George W. Bush ordered troop surge in February with an extra 28,000 soldiers.

American military officials have acknowledged that resistance attacks against their forces were growing more lethal and sophisticated.

Opposition to the Iraq war hit a record high in the US with 60 percent in favor of setting a withdrawal timetable.

Thousands of Americans and peace activists took to the streets in cities across the US recently to protest the continuing occupation of Iraq.

Italian Muslims Call for Love
November 07, 2007 - 01:37

MILAN — More than 3,000 Muslims gathered earlier this week in Milan’s Palalido stadium to send a message of love and fraternity to the wider society. “We sent reassurances to fellow Italians that Islam is a religion of love,” Mostafa El-Beltaguei, the director of the human resources department at Islamic Relief ’s Italy chapter, told IslamOnline.net. The “Call for Love” gala brought together up to 3,000 people, who prayed for peace, sang for fraternity and donated generously for the needy. Verses from the Noble Qur’an on mercy towards the needy, orphans and the disadvantaged were recited. “We chose verses from Ad-Duha surah as it symbolizes dignified human values,” said El-Beltaguei. Famed Syrian munshid Mohamed Abu Ratib then sang to the audience some of his Islamic songs like the popular “Ya Taiba.” “I accepted the invitation because this festival is all about love and good offices,” he told IOL. “It is a message of love and fraternity, which represent the very core of Islam.” Had it not been for the approval of Italian authorities, the gala would have not possible. “But I urge the government to take part in future events to know first-hand what Muslims are saying and doing,” suggested El-Beltaguei. “We are only for the welfare of humankind irrespective of race, religion or color.” Italy has a Muslim population of some 1.2 million, including 20,000 reverts, according to unofficial estimates. The northern city of Milan has the largest Muslim concentration. One God The Muslim audience gave a special warming applause to Father Don Piero, the representative of the Catholic Church in Milan. “In the name of the one and only God,” Piero opened his speech to a standing ovation from cheering thousands. He added to the jovial mode when he thanked the audience in Arabic for their attentive listening. Father Piero was presented a recorded recitation of the Qur’an by late Egyptian Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil El-Hosari and a package of books on Islam in Italian. But the moving scene was the aw-inspiring congregational prayer led by Egyptian preacher Omar Abdel Kafi. “Global peace hinges on mutual love,” he told the audience in a post-prayer lecture. “Start with your own small family because their love is the nucleus of global peace,” he added. “Then love your neighbor regardless of his/her religion.” Abdel Kafi urged Muslims in the West to translate their Islamic values into actions and reach out to the other. “I implore you to respect the other as well as I urge the westerners to respect Muslims and other minorities, treat them well and reciprocate love, which is the bedrock of any civilization.” The Muslim preacher thanked Italy for authorizing such a huge event, which would not be tolerated in some Muslim countries. Islamic Relief organized similar large-scale charity events over the past three days in several cities including Lodi, Reggio Emilia and Brescia. In Lodi, up to 1,500 people attended the charity’s festival at Turin’s Colosseum Theatre, while some 4,500 showed up for the Brescia’s gala at one of the city’s theatres. Established in Birmingham in 1984, IR has developed over the years into an international charity with the stated mission of alleviating suffering, hunger, illiteracy and diseases regardless of color, race or creed. Its projects range from emergency relief to long-term development and focus on key areas such as water and sanitation, health and nutrition and orphan sponsorship