TwoCircles.net - Indian Muslim news

After meeting Chinese official, Mirwaiz attends Pakistan Day
Court reserves judgment on POTA evidence
Resolve issue of damaged Muslim shrines: court to Gujarat
Batla autopsy: Jamiat Ahle Hadeeth demands probe of shootout
Kashmir separatists see a role for China
Delhi serial blasts accused sent to police custody
SC admits Andhra appeal on Muslims reservation row
Left youth group demand probe into Batla encounter
AMP organizes a discussion on Women’s Reservation Bill
Muslim prisoners fast during Navratri to atone for sins
Terror acquittal: Dr Ibrahim Ali Junaid of Hyderabad
2,000 Muslim families living as migrants in Jammu: Minister
Feraque Ahmad: A devout Muslim, a progressive DM of Kishanganj

After meeting Chinese official, Mirwaiz attends Pakistan Day

Posted: 23 Mar 2010 10:37 AM PDT

By IANS,

New Delhi: After meeting with foreign leaders, including a senior Chinese official, during his trip abroad, moderate Kashmiri separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq met Pakistani high commission officials here Tuesday.

The Mirwaiz attended a dinner hosted by High Commissioner Shahid Malik at the Pakistan Day function in the high commission. His bitter critic and hawkish Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani too was present.

Court reserves judgment on POTA evidence

Posted: 23 Mar 2010 10:08 AM PDT

By IANS,

Gandhinagar: The Gujarat High Court Tuesday reserved decision on whether to preserve confessional statements of the accused in POTA cases and consider them as evidence.

Counsel for petitioners, A.D. Shah argued that as per the Evidence Act, the court has to decide whether the evidence produced before it was relevant and admissible or not. It was also argued that according to this Act, confessional statements cannot be considered as evidence and thus they were inadmissible.

Resolve issue of damaged Muslim shrines: court to Gujarat

Posted: 23 Mar 2010 10:02 AM PDT

By IANS,

Gandhinagar: The Gujarat High Court Tuesday directed the state government to amicably resolve with the Islamic Relief Committee of Gujarat (IRCG) the issue of restoring religious places that were damaged or destroyed during the 2002 riots.

The IRCG had filed a petition before the high court seeking directions to the government to restore and repair the damaged religious places.

In the petition filed in 2003, IRCG had sought compensation on the grounds that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has also recommended the same to the state government.

Batla autopsy: Jamiat Ahle Hadeeth demands probe of shootout

Posted: 23 Mar 2010 08:44 AM PDT

By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,

New Delhi: Following the exposure of the Batla House encounter autopsy report, the demand for judicial probe into the September 2008 shootout is once again being made by Muslim religious and social organizations along with human rights activists. Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadeeth Hind, first Muslim organization to do so, has today demanded a probe into the shootout to clear doubts in the mind of common people.

Kashmir separatists see a role for China

Posted: 23 Mar 2010 08:41 AM PDT

By Mir Umar, AIP,

Srinagar: Ignoring New Delhi's discomfort over involving China in Kashmir, Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq held talks with a senior Chinese foreign affairs official and discussed a possible role for Beijing in the resolution of the dispute.

In what was his first contact with a top Chinese official, Mirwaiz met Director Foreign Affairs, Ying Gang in Geneva on the sidelines of the 13th session of the UN Human Rights Council on Monday. The Hurriyat leader is due to travel to China at the invitation of the Han Foundation.

Delhi serial blasts accused sent to police custody

Posted: 23 Mar 2010 08:39 AM PDT

By IANS,

New Delhi: A suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorist and Delhi serial blasts accused, who claims to be a minor, was Tuesday sent to police custody for five days by a city court.

The next hearing will be on March 29.

A medical board of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) submitted a report Monday before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaveri Baweja and said the age of Salman Ahmed alias Chotu was between 25-26 years.

SC admits Andhra appeal on Muslims reservation row

Posted: 23 Mar 2010 08:38 AM PDT

By Manoj Khar, AIP,

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today admitted an appeal filed by the Andhra Pradesh Government challenging the High Court verdict striking down a law providing four per cent reservation for Muslims in educational institutions and jobs.

A bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Deepak Verma while admitting the State's special leave petition said it would pass an interim order on the issue on March 25.

Left youth group demand probe into Batla encounter

Posted: 23 Mar 2010 08:15 AM PDT

By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,

New Delhi: All India Youth Federation, the youth wing of Communist Party of India today held a demonstration and candle march in Jamia Nagar to demand judicial probe into the infamous Batla House encounter. The group said the probe is now must in the light of the post-mortem report of slain terror suspects which has put a big question mark before the police version of the September 2008 shootout in South Delhi locality.

AMP organizes a discussion on Women’s Reservation Bill

Posted: 23 Mar 2010 07:53 AM PDT

By Syed Najeeb-ur-Rahman,

Mumbai: On Saturday the 20th of March,2010, Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP) organized an open Discussion on the 'Women's Reservation Bill'. This discussion was held at Urdu Markaz at Imamwada, Bhendi Bazar.

Muslim prisoners fast during Navratri to atone for sins

Posted: 23 Mar 2010 04:11 AM PDT

By Asit Srivastava, IANS,

Barabanki : They wake up early, keep fast, undertake Hindu rituals, sing hymns and eat a special diet like their Hindu brethren during the ongoing Navratri festival. These Muslim inmates of a Barabanki jail believe this will help them seek pardon from the almighty for their crimes and sins.

Nearly 30 Muslim prisoners of the district jail in Barabanki, about 35 km from Lucknow, are not only observing the Navratri fast, but also participating in the prayers to goddess Durga, to whom the nine-day festival is dedicated.

Terror acquittal: Dr Ibrahim Ali Junaid of Hyderabad

Posted: 23 Mar 2010 04:06 AM PDT

By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,

28-year-old Dr Ibrahim Ali Junaid is a practicing BUMS doctor at a private hospital in Hyderabad. He was in the final year of his medical course when the local police picked him in August 2007 in connection with the Makkah Masjid and other terror blasts in the city. He was exposed to third degree torture for five days and was unsuccessfully forced to admit his 'role' in the blasts. At last he was charge-sheeted for hatching conspiracy for terrorist activities in the country but in December 2008 the court acquitted him of all charges.

2,000 Muslim families living as migrants in Jammu: Minister

Posted: 23 Mar 2010 04:00 AM PDT

By IANS,

Jammu : There are more than 2,000 Kashmiri Muslim families living as migrants in Jammu, a state minister said Tuesday.

Revenue Minister Raman Bhalla, replying to a question by Peoples Democratic Party's Syed Bashrat Bukhari in the state legislative assembly, said the government was looking after all migrants -- Kashmiri Pandits, Muslims and Sikhs.

"While there are 38,149 Kashmiri Pandit families registered as migrants, 2,168 Muslim families and 1,749 Sikh families were also registered as migrants with the office of the relief commissioner in Jammu," he added.

Feraque Ahmad: A devout Muslim, a progressive DM of Kishanganj

Posted: 23 Mar 2010 03:22 AM PDT

By Md. Mudassir Alam,

He is a simple man with a gentle smile, and donning characteristic Muslim appearance. Long white beard, a skull cap (topi) and very simple clothing is what describes much better about Feraque Ahmad, the District Magistrate of India's Muslim dominated district Kishanganj. At the first sight hardly anyone will believe that the man can be an IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer and encompasses a high (liberal) thinking.