A Press TV journalist detained on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla describes mistreatment of activists attacked on the aid convoy and his own ordeal in Israeli custody.

Still suffering from lack of sleep, Hassan Ghani explained how Israeli navy forces suddenly encircled the Turkish-flagged vessel he was traveling on and launched an attack on the aid Flotilla.

“We were some 90 miles off the Israeli coast and we were by no means within the so-called military exclusion area, which was originally 20 miles but later extended to 68 miles,” Ghani told Press TV on Thursday.

He described measures taken by the campaigners onboard the ships for repelling the invaders, saying water hoses were used to drive back the Israelis.

Meanwhile, helicopters belonging to the Israeli army landed on the deck and a number of frigates approached the vessel from either side.

Ghani added that Israeli commandos, each armed with at least two weapons, landed on the ship eventually.

“They came down and we heard gunfire… at this stage we did not know if they were rubber bullets or live ammunition but we heard gunfire,” he said, adding that the activists used any objects at hand, but mostly their bare hands, to defend themselves.

The soldiers tried to open fire, with their machine guns, when they faced resistance from activists who held them back, preventing them from approaching the cameras, which were broadcasting the course of events live from the main deck.

The Press TV correspondent added that the volunteers had successfully disarmed some of the soldiers, taking away their guns with their bare hands, when the Israeli side started using live bullets causing fatalities.

“A man was shot right in the head,” Ghani said, explaining that the murder indicated the soldiers had enough time to aim and that the decision to shoot was not made on impulse or out of fear.

According to Ghani, the gunfire continued for quite some time even after the activists had raised their white flags of surrender.

Rejecting Israeli media reports about the alleged use of guns by the activists, Ghani said the only weapons carried by the volunteers were those seized from the Israeli soldiers. The guns were taken and their bullets were removed from the weapons and preserved to be used as evidence later, he explained.

Ghani and his companions were held under gun point and constant threats for some 12 hours in the ship, with their hands tied tight behind their backs. He said his hands were tied so tight that the blood circulation stopped in his right hand.

The soldiers took the entire luggage onboard and went through it all while forcing the activists to lie on the deck. The belongings of those on the ship were smashed and thrown all around, he said.

“We were treated like animals, we were told when to sit when to stand up,” he recalled. “Nobody was allowed to stand up, nobody was allowed to go to the toilet,” he said, adding that the Israeli forces would refuse permission until after the civilians had begged and pleaded several times.

“Then we were taken to the port of Ashdod, where we were all taken down. We were not allowed to take any sort of personal belongings.”

Upon their arrival, the activists were forced to sign a statement in Hebrew which the volunteers did not understand. The international campaigners were interrogated and then sent to different Israeli prisons.

Prior to their departure, they were given another paper and were pressured to confirm that they agreed to being deported from Israel on charges of illegal entry — this is while the Israeli army had forcefully brought them in.

Those campaigners from countries which do not recognize Israel were bused away to Jordan while others were sent to Istanbul on Turkish airline planes.

Ghani said a number of volunteers refused to leave Israel and said they decided to file a complaint and defend their cases in an Israeli court.

However, their resistance was met with violence from the Israeli side and they were severely beaten and dragged to the bus to the airport, and eventually forced to get on the plane.

Throughout their detention, the activists were not allowed to contact a lawyer or call their families, in contrast to the Israeli prison law.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=128860&sectionid=351020202

And here is a picture of one of the activists beaten by the Israelis.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=129205&sectionid=351020202

So, tomorrow is voting day! Who are you guys voting for - Labour, Conservative, Lib-Dems, Respect, Green, UKIP… or BNP (lol)?

Did you know many more Muslims are standing to become MPs? Be sure to consider them alongside your usual candidates. Remember, you’re choosing the best man/woman for the job and religion, race or any other personal thing should not be the reason you choose one person over another.

First Muslim women MPs to be elected

Up to a quarter of the 16 Muslim females standing as candidates at the next month’s general elections are in prominent positions to win parliamentary seats for the first time, according to an analysis carried out exclusively by The Muslim News.

The total number of Muslim MPs could also continue to double, including at least one of two Conservatives being elected for the first time. The first Muslim MP was elected in 1997, the second in 2001 and the number doubled again at the last election to four, all have so far been Labour.

Among Muslim women, Yasmin Qureshi, Shabana Mahmood and Maryam Khan have all been selected to defend Labour seats respectively in Bolton South East, Birmingham Ladywood and Bury North. Respect Party – Unity Coalition leader Salma Yaqoob also is seen as having an outside chance of capturing Birmingham Hall Green.

In addition among male candidates, three of the four incumbent MPs, Sadiq Khan, Shahid Malik and Khalid Mahmood are seeking re-election, while in Glasgow Central, Anas Sarwar is seeking to replace his father, Mohammad Sarwar, who is stepping down.

Among Conservatives, Sajid Javid has been selected to defend the more than 10,000 majority of resigning MP Julie Kirkbride, while Rehman Christi is standing in Gillingham & Rainham, the party’s number one target seat. In Bradord West, Zahid Iqbal is seeking to unseat Labour MP Marsha Singh in the constituencies which has changed boundaries.

One seat certain to have a Muslim MP is Bethnal Green & Bow, following George Galloway seeking re-election in the newly created Poplar and Limehouse constituency next door. Respect’s Abjol Miah is defending the seat, Labour’s Rushanara Ali is trying to regain it, while Ajmal Masroor and Zakir Khan are also candidates for the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives respectively.

Full details, analysis and articles as well as an interview with Prime Minister Gordon Brown will be published in this month’s edition of The Muslim News.

For interviews with Opposition Leader, David Cameron and Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg, click here.

Iraqi, Lebanese candidates seeking become first Arab MPs in UK

London, (IRNA): Britain is certain to have its first Arab MP with an Iraqi-born candidate defending a safe Conservative seat and a Lebanese selected by Labour in a redrawn London constituency with a notion party majority, IRNA has learnt.

Nadhim Zahawi will stand down as the chief executive of online market research agency YouGov, if as expected he successfully defends the 12,000-plus majority of the outgoing former Conservative shadow foreign secretary John Maples in Strafford, central England.

Zahawi, an Iraqi, was a former Conservative councillor in Wandsworth, south London, before going on to co-found the successful polling company.

“I believe that what is needed is someone who will put local people first, someone who understands their problems, represents and fights for their interests,” he said after being selected.

“It is crucial that we restore trust in our democracy and our Parliament,” he said after inheriting the constituency of Marples, who was a casualty of the recently exposed scandal over the extent of MPs expenses.

Bassam Mahfouz, who is believed to be the only other candidate standing in the UK’s elections of Arab heritage, has a more difficult task of defending a much smaller majority for Labour in the redrawn constituency of Ealing Central & Acton.

Mahfouz, who was born in Lebanon, was also a former local councillor and has served as a parliamentary researcher before winning the party’s nomination.

“I am ambitious for what we can achieve here, and local residents will know that with me they would get a hard-working campaigning MP who is on their side,” he said.

The two Arab candidates are hoping to boost the number of Muslim MPs in parliament to more than a dozen, up from four in 2005.

Those successful could include up to four or five Muslim women, who will be first elected to the British parliament.

Iraqi securtiy forces disrupted an attempt to bomb the Imam Ali shrine in the holy city of Najaf, using an airplane in attacks planned to resemple the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the U.S., Al Arabiya reported on Wednesday.

According to Al Arabiya reporter Zeinab Bilal, members of al-Qaeda were planning to hijack an airplane after it took off from Najaf airport and fly it into the dome of the Shiite shrine in a scenario similar to the 9/11 attacks.

Security officials said they temporarily shut down at least two airports and have arrested two men — one of the intended pilots and an airport worker — suspected in the plot, which appeared aimed at undermining the country’s stability while U.S. troops prepare to go home.

The gold-domed Imam Ali shrine is one of the most revered Shiite religious mosques in the world

Najaf airport, 150 kilometres (90 miles) south of the Iraqi capital, was shut on April 7 on orders from the transport ministry citing security concerns.

The airport remains closed because of its proximity to the shrine, but Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi told reporters in Najaf that it “will be reopened soon, after discussing the needed security measures.”

Around 800 people use the airport each day, most of them from Shiite-majority Iran and Bahrain, according to aviation officials

Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi told reporters in Najaf that the airport “will be reopened soon, after discussing the needed security measures.” He said the intelligence about the attacks is unclear but “at the same time, we can’t neglect them.”

But numbers surge during major festivals such as Ashura, when pilgrims flock to the Imam Ali shrine.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq has been blamed for a recent violence in Baghdad, and security officials believe the terror network is trying to regroup during the political disarray left by the March 7 parliamentary elections, which failed to produce a clear winner.

The alleged plot also comes as American forces plan to send home all but 50,000 troops by Aug. 31, with the rest scheduled to follow by the end of 2011 as required by a U.S.-Iraqi security agreement.

http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2010/04/14/105854.html

Israeli soldiers have beaten up and made a Palestinian child drink sewage water after they caught him for alleged stone throwing in the West Bank City of al-Khalil.

According to a report published by the Palestinian Information Center on Thursday, the 15-year-old Sabri Awad was seized at the entrance to Beit Ummar Village, north of al-Khalil (Hebron), where a tight blockade has been imposed since last week.

All entries into the region have been sealed by interlocking concrete blocks and new military check points set up.

“Israeli troops handcuffed me and dragged me into an army jeep. They then hit me for nearly two hours before using me as a human shield to ward off stone throwing youths,” Awad said.

He added that the troopers questioned him about hurling stones at Israeli forces, which he denied. After that, the adolescent forced him to drink sewage water. He vomited and the soldiers beat him again.

Sabri said Israeli soldiers finally threw him out of the jeep with a teargas canister and drove away.

Israel is holding captive 300 children in its detention facilities under harsh and life-threatening conditions.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124083&sectionid=351020202

The Swiss army recently approved an arrangement for non-Christian soldiers.

The regulations cover both dietary customs and hours of prayer.  Muslim soldiers can turn to Mecca, for example, only once a day. [Muslims are obliged to pray 5 times a day]

This document corresponds to a tradition in the Swiss army.  The army has always made exceptions, Martin Bühler, spokesperson for the federal ministry of defense told ATS.  He confirmed the information on NZZ am Sonntag.

There are already regulation for Jewish soldiers and recruits.  In another field, farmers are also entitled to exceptions, when they lack manpower, explains Bühler.

Muslim recruits can now report to their commanding officer before starting training that they do not eat pork. [There are quite a few more dietary considerations than just”no pork”] In certain recruit academies, Muslims make up practically 10% of the manpower.  They will now be offered an alternative menu.  They can also arrange for their own food.

In addition to the dietary requirements, the new document also regulates the issue of leave during religious festivals and prayer times.  As a Muslim in the armed forces can hardly pray five times a day, he must compact it into a single prayer after the end of his duty shift. [This is very wrong, Muslims should pray 5 times during allotted times in the day, with some given leniency] According to the army, the regulation was developed in collaboration with two Muslims who agreed to this solution. [Oh, I see, ask 2 idiots and pass regulations. How very intelligent]

Facilities are available to believers of all religions.  In some places the army arranges for a lace of meditation. [A What?] Otherwise, it’s possible to use a classroom.

http://islamineurope.blogspot.com/2010/04/switzerland-new-arrangements-for-muslim.html

I know if I were Swiss or even a Swiss Muslim, I wouldn’t be joining the Army any time soon.

European push to ban burqas appalls Afghan women

A firm believer in women’s rights, the only thing Afghan lawmaker Shinkai Karokhail finds as appalling as being forced to wear a burqa is a law banning it.

Karokhail is one of many Afghan women who see a double standard in efforts by some European nations to outlaw face veils and burqas — a move they say restricts a Muslim woman’s choice in countries that otherwise make a fuss about personal rights.

“Democratic countries should not become dictatorships and Muslim women should not be deprived from all kinds of opportunities. It should be their choice,” said Karokhail.

“Otherwise, what is the difference between forcing women to wear a burqa and forcing them not to? It is discrimination.”

How not to liberate women

Bans on full-face veils being considered or already in place, whether nationwide, at the municipal level, or applied in public buildings and transportation, undermine Muslim women’s autonomy and religious freedom. Arguments put forward to support these bans fall into four categories, none of which stand up to serious scrutiny.

Anger at Belgian face veil ban

Muslims, academics and human rights groups have hit out at a looming public ban in Belgium on the full face veil, following a decision in the country’s parliament to make the wearing of the article of clothing illegal.

The vote on Thursday was almost unanimous with 134 MPs in support of the law and just two abstentions.

French Try To Ban Burqa & Niqab - Inquiry condemns burka as ‘un-French’

The Islamic full-body veil should be banned from French public offices, hospitals, trains and buses, according to a [French] parliamentary investigation which reported yesterday. In a bad-tempered final session, the committee of inquiry angered many members of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s ruling centre-right party by rejecting their demands for an outright ban on the burka or niqab. After a muddled and heated six-month investigation, the committee decided that such a ban might be declared unconstitutional under French and European law.

Burqa and niqab have no place in Denmark: PM

The face-covering burqa and niqab veils worn by some Muslim women have no place in Denmark, Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen says, adding his government was considering restricting them.

Police stop Muslim woman wearing veil in Italy and fine her €500

A woman visiting a post office in Novara, north-western Italy, has been stopped by police for wearing an Islamic veil covering her face.

A police official told the AFP news agency the woman would have to pay a 500-euro (£430) fine.

Canadian province, Quebec, bans the Niqab

Quebec will refuse all government services, including education and non-emergency health care, to fully veiled Muslim women under legislation tabled on Wednesday in the National Assembly.

Jean Charest, the Liberal Premier, said the bill establishing guidelines for the accommodation of religious minorities is aimed at “drawing a line” to demonstrate that gender equality is a paramount Quebec value.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said Friday that the country neither believes in atomic bombs nor is it seeking to develop such weapons.

The Leader said the continuation of allegations by the West that the country is pursuing military objectives in its civilian nuclear program signals that the propaganda campaign against Iran has failed.

Iran has announced many times, he said, that its fundamentals and religious principles consider weapons of mass destruction as “illegal and haraam” — meaning forbidden and prohibited according to Islamic rules.

The West accuses Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), of seeking a nuclear weapon. Tehran, however, rejects the allegation and says its program is aimed at the civilian applications of the technology.

Iran in no way believes in an atomic bomb, and it does not seek one, Ayatollah Khamenei said.

The Leader made the remarks during the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s first domestically-built destroyer.

http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=118988&sectionid=351020101

Violent clashes broke out on Saturday between riot police and right-wing protesters.

About 2,000 members of the English Defence League (EDL) descended on Dudley town centre in the West Midlands to demonstrate against plans for a new mosque.

Some of the protesters broke out of a pen in a car park, breaking down metal fences and throwing the metal brackets at officers, who were armed with riot shields and batons.

Members of the demonstration started fighting their own stewards who were trying to calm them down as they attacked the fences penning them in.

The EDL had put signs up which read “Labour forcing mosques on Britain” and “No one wants this mosque”.

Some demonstrators held placards reading “Muslim bombers off our streets” and “Say no to the mosque”. The national anthem was played on a speaker system while demonstrators waved the flag of St George.

Dudley Council said in a statement on its website: “We didn’t invite the EDL to our town and we don’t want them here.”

But the council said it did not have the power to ban the event. It said: “The council has worked closely with the police to do all it can to protect and support local people, traders, businesses and the town centre. The EDL is proposing a static protest (rather than a march) and there is no legal requirement for an organiser of such a protest to notify the police or the council of their definite plans.”

The mosque is planned for Hall Street with details on the design and positioning of the building due for submission by July 2011. In July last year the council lost a high court challenge to prevent the planning application being given the go ahead.

The EDL protesters managed to break out of the car park by pulling down fences and barging their way past riot police officers. About half the group then ran off through the town. Lines of riot police officers fought running battles with protesters as they tried to contain the mob who pulled down barriers blocking off roads.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20100403/tuk-violence-at-anti-mosque-protest-6323e80.html

A Christian nurse was “forced to choose between her job and her faith” after being ordered to remove her crucifix at a hospital where Muslim staff wore headscarves unchallenged, a tribunal heard yesterday.

Shirley Chaplin, 54, said she had been wearing the religious symbol around her neck without complaint for 31 years before she was ordered to hide it away. But the grandmother claims that after refusing to comply and then pointing out that two women doctors were allowed to wear headscarves, she was moved to a desk job.

Her case has caused uproar among Christian support groups,  who feel their beliefs are not being given the same respect as other faiths. At the weekend her case against the NHS was backed by seven senior Anglican bishops who issued a national letter of support.

Yesterday, on the first day of an employment tribunal, Mrs Chaplin, from Kenn, near Exeter, Devon, told of her fight to be allowed to carry on wearing the crucifix. She is claiming religious discrimination in a case backed by the Christian Legal Centre, which says her treatment is a symptom of increasing discrimination against Christians.

http://www.islamophobia-watch.com/islamophobia-watch/2010/3/30/christian-nurse-ordered-to-remove-crucifix-at-hospital-where.html