Hospital damaged by Israeli tanks

(Infocus News Staff) GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – El Wafa Medical Rehabilitation Hospital and its premises were targeted by Israeli tanks on April 16, according to a statement released by the hospital. The attack damaged the hospital buildings, infrastructure and premises, and caused complete outage of power and water. It also damaged the generator’s cable, which endangers the lives of the paralyzed and coma patients who need constant medical attention. In a statement, the hospital asks the international community, human rights organizations, the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the International Red Cross Society to aid in putting an end to repeated Israeli military aggression.

Muslim woman to stay in Israeli search and rescue unit

(From News Agencies) JERUSALEM – A Muslim female medic from northern Israel is the first of her faith to serve in an elite airborne search and rescue unit, all because of an error. The female, whose name was not released, was assigned to a unit of the Israeli Air Force because of a clerical error. However, her commander insisted she remain with the unit because of her exceptional performance. She will be going through another course of training to be an airborne medic. While Palestinian Israeli citizens aren’t required to serve in the military, the air force, in particular, has resisted allowing Muslims to serve even if they volunteer. In 2006, a Muslim trained as a civilian pilot was rejected from serving as a fighter pilot even though his instructor, who was a former air force officer, strongly recommended him.

Pakistani senator to make film to counter anti-Islam propaganda

(From Dawn Newspaper) ISLAMABAD — A Pakistani senator, Dr. Babar Awan, has launched a project to make an international documentary on the Holy Quran in response to a controversial film released by a Dutch parliamentarian and blasphemous caricatures of Prophet Muhammad. Senator Awan said at a press conference on April 20 that the documentary in Urdu, English and Arabic languages would be completed in about 100 days. He said the film would be released all over the world on the first of Ramadan. Awan said the documentary was being made in response to growing propaganda campaigns in the West against Islam, the Holy Quran and Islamic teachings. "It will counter the biased propaganda and spread the true message of our great religion," he said. The Pakistan People’s Party Senator said a script based on research on the Holy Quran prepared by a group of scholars was being vetted by professional writers. He said the film would not be meant to hurt anyone’s feelings or target any religion, but would present the true picture of Islam. "As a Muslim parliamentarian, I have accepted this big challenge to reply to the film of Geert Wilders," he said. He said world peace truly lay in interfaith harmony and not in inimical attitude towards different beliefs. Awan said no religion allowed humiliation of other religions but ‘some’ people had tried to portray Islam as a religion of hatred and violence. He said Islam and its followers were being targeted under a well-thought-out plan. He said he would run the project in collaboration with and financial support of some friends but anyone intending to be of help would be welcome.

Hirsi Ali, Dutch critic of Islam, will publish children’s book

(AP) AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – A prominent Dutch critic of Islam will publish a children’s book intended to involve young people in the debate over multiculturalism.

A spokeswoman for Ayaan Hirsi Ali says "Adan & Eva" will be released in Dutch on May 29 and later translated into other European languages. Hirsi Ali was born in Somalia and became a Dutch lawmaker before moving to Washington, D.C. She has offended by her work in the past, particularly her screenplay for filmmaker Theo van Gogh’s "Submission," which focused on the abuse of Muslim women by Muslim men.

Spokeswoman Ingrid Pouw said the book is about a fictional 12-year-old Muslim boy who encounters difficulties after befriending a Jewish girl.

Bardot risks fine, prison time over anti-Muslim remarks

(AFP) PARIS — A Paris prosecutor is calling for former actress Brigitte Bardot to be fined $23,000 and a suspended two-month prison sentence for inciting hatred against Muslims. In December 2006, the French star wrote a letter to France’s then interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, claiming Muslims should stun animals before slaughtering them at the Aid al-Kabir holiday. She outraged French anti-racist groups by saying: "I’ve had enough of being led by the nose by this whole population which is destroying us, destroying our country by imposing their ways." Bardot, now 73 and suffering from arthritis, was absent from Tuesday’s court hearing. She wrote to the court saying: "I’m sickened by how (these organisations) are harassing me." She added: "I will not shut up until stunning is carried out" on animals before their ritual slaughter. Bardot, who has been an animal rights activist for 20 years, already has four convictions on similar charges. In 2004 a Paris court fined her 5,000 euros for inciting racial hatred in her book "Un Cri Dans le Silence" (A Cry in the Silence). The court is due to announce its decision on June 3.

Muslim social media site named best tech start-up In Europe

(From news agencies) London – Red Herring magazine has named a popular Muslim social networking site as the best technology start-up in Europe this year. Muxlim.com, founded by Finland-based entrepreneurs Mohamed El-Fatatry and Pietari Päivänen, now boasts 1 million unique visits every month. The site’s user traffic makes it the Muslim equivalent of Yahoo!, Facebook and YouTube. El-Fatatry attributed the popularity of Muxlim.com to the safe and friendly environment of the site. He said the site does not expose people to vulgarity, offensive content, or adult material. "Our community has been very active in helping the moderation team ensure that uploaded content is appropriate for users of all ages," said El-Fatatry in a statement.

Calgary imam walks across Canada to support peace

(From news agencies) HALIFAX, Nova Scotia – A middle-aged Calgary consultant and volunteer imam dipped his bare toes into Halifax Harbor on April 20, kicking off his cross-country walk to protest violence. Syed Soharwardy, 52, said he invites people of all faiths to join him on the Multi-Faith Walk Against Violence as he treks to Victoria, British Columbia. He said there was not just one violent incident that prompted the walk, but the apparent escalation of violence - from incidents between young people to international terrorism - that led to the project. Soharwardy, said the walk will draw more attention and allow him to meet more people than speaking.

Qatar – Claiming that Makkah is the true centre of the Earth, Muslim scientists and clerics called for the adoption of Makkah time to replace GMT. The call was issued at a conference called "Makkah, the Centre of the Earth, Theory and Practice" last month, BBC News reported. Makkah is the direction all Muslims face when they perform their daily prayers. One geologist argued that unlike other longitudes, Makkah’s was in perfect alignment to magnetic north. He said the English had imposed GMT on the rest of the world by force when Britain was a big colonial power, and it was about time that changed. Shaikh Youssef al-Qaradawy, a prominent cleric, said modern science had at last provided evidence that Makkah was the true center of the Earth, according to the published report. He said that was proof of the greatness of the Muslim "qibla" - the Arabic word for the direction Muslims turn to when they pray. The meeting also reviewed what has been described as a Makkah watch, the brainchild of a French Muslim. The watch is said to rotate anti-clockwise and is supposed to help Muslims determine the direction of Makkah from any point on Earth. The meeting was part of a popular trend in some Muslim societies of seeking to find Qur’anic precedents for modern science. It is called "Ijaz al-Koran", which roughly translates as the "miraculous nature of the holy text". The underlying belief is that scientific truths were also revealed in the Muslim holy book, and it is the work of scholars to unearth and publicize the textual evidence. But the movement is not without its critics, who say that the notion that modern science was revealed in the Qur’an confuses spiritual truth, which is constant, and empirical truth, which depends on the state of science at any given point in time.