inshad-video

News Americas / Bank of America reports losses

2009-10-18T11:53:00.001-07:00

Bank of America has announced that it made third-quarter losses of more than $2.2bn, due in part to continued losses from consumer loans. The bank, which is the second largest in the US, said on Friday that the losses – which account for preferred dividends of $1.24bn – amount to 26 cents per share, worse than predictions by analysts. The company wrote down loans by almost $10bn during the July-September period – a rise of almost $1bn from the previous quarter. The bank, which has received $45bn in funding as part of the US treasury's $700bn financial stimulus package, also added $2.1bn to its reserves to cover bad loans. The company's provision for credit losses now stands at $11.7bn. Further losses expected Ken Lewis, chief executive officer of Bank of America, said that loan losses were likely to continue rising. "Based on [the] economic scenario, results in the fourth quarter are expected to continue to be challenging as we close the year," Lewis said during a conference call with analysts. The third-quarter losses compared with earnings of $704m, or 15 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue in the quarter increased 33 per cent to $26.04bn. "Obviously, credit costs remain high, and that is our major financial challenge going forward," Lewis said in a statement accompanying the earnings report. "However, we are heartened by early positive signs, such as the levelling of delinquencies among our credit card numbers." Bank of America is considered by analysts to be particularly vulnerable amid rising US unemployment. The US jobless rate rose last month to 9.8 per cent. The bank has about 53 million consumer and small business customers, meaning that it is exposed to payment defaults in the present economic climate. The results come after Citigroup Inc and JPMorgan Chase also reported loan losses during the third quarter of 2009, as customers struggled to pay their credit card and mortgage debts. General Electric also reported on Friday that its GECapital business, which includes credit cards, saw an 87 per cent drop in profits.

Mesut Kurtis - Beloved

2009-10-13T11:36:00.000-07:00

Sami Yusuf - You Came To Me

2009-10-13T11:27:00.000-07:00

Sport - Video: A true football hero

2009-09-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

Brendan Connor hears the inspirational story of Luis Fernando Montoya - Colombia's top football coach who was shot in a robbery at his home near Medellin in 2004. Paralysed and confined to a wheelchair, the Copa Libertadores winner continues to pass on his football knowledge to a new generation of coaches.

Sport - Obama set to be lord of the rings

2009-09-29T10:49:00.001-07:00

The four cities bidding for the prize honour of hosting the 2016 Olympic Games have begun three intensive days of lobbying – with the Obama factor looming large ahead of Friday's vote by the International Olympic Committee. The White House announcement on Monday that President Barack Obama would fly in to Copenhagen to appear before the International Olympic Committee in support of Chicago's bid for the Games was the news the other three candidates least wanted. Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo all fear that the IOC membership could be swayed by Obama's charismatic appeal, as they were four years ago when then British prime minister Tony Blair helped persuade them to choose London over clear favourites Paris for the 2012 Olympics. Two years later, then-Russian president Vladimir Putin was similarly persuasive when the Black Sea resort of Sochi, rank outsiders, won the right to stage the 2014 Winter Olympics. Obama, who has close connections with the Windy City, had originally opted to stay at home to deal with his healthcare reform plans and announced that First Lady Michelle Obama would travel instead to the Danish capital. Chicago bid leaders were delighted by Monday's news which means both Obamas will now be part of the team making the presentation to the IOC membership on Friday.

Business - Japan prices fall at record rate

2009-09-29T10:45:00.000-07:00

Consumer prices in Japan tumbled at a record pace in August according to fresh government data, raising fears that a prolonged downward spiral of deflation could undermine the country's fragile economic recovery. Figures released on Tuesday showed Japan's key core consumer price index (CPI) falling 2.4 per cent from a year earlier, as rising unemployment and falling wages kept domestic demand weak. The data represents the sixth straight month of declines in the index, and the biggest fall since 1971 when officials first began recording comparable data. The index excludes volatile fresh food prices and also includes fuel and energy costs. The falls come despite recent signs of an improvement in the Japanese economy, which returned to positive growth in the second quarter of 2009, after its worst recession since the second world war.

News Europe - UN investigator defends Gaza report

2009-09-29T10:43:00.000-07:00

United Nations investigator has defended a report published earlier this month that accuses Israel and Palestinian fighters of war crimes following the Israeli offensive in Gaza earlier this year. Addressing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday, Richard Goldstone said a lack of accountability for war crimes committed in the Middle East had reached "crisis point", undermining any hope for peace in the region. The former South African judge rejected criticism by Israel that the 575-page report was politically motivated. He said his team was led by a belief in the rule of law, human rights and the need to protect civilians during war.

NEWS EUROPE - Swiss rally to defend employment

2009-09-23T03:24:00.001-07:00

About 30,000 people have demonstrated in the Swiss capital to defend jobs and against the protection of high salaries during the worldwide recession. Protesters, who travelled from across the country to Bern on Saturday, were organised by the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions (USS). "We want a real short-term political approach which will stimulate growth," Ewald Ackerman, a USS spokesman told the Agence France Presse news agency. Ackerman said that the measures taken so far by the government were "very insufficient" and that the economic outlook was "very worrisome". "We are approaching 4 per cent unemployment," which he said was "a lot" for Switzerland. "We have had enough of 'bonus knights' and managers with excessive salaries," Paul Rechtsteiner, the USS chief, said. The Swiss economy shrank 0.8 and 0.3 per cent in the first and second quarters respectively in 2009. The central bank has forecast a contraction of up to three per cent for all of this year. Bern has launched three economic boosting programmes since the crisis struck, totalling $2.2 billion.

BUSINESS - UK jobless rate hits 13-year high

2009-09-23T03:21:00.000-07:00

Unemployment in Britain has climbed to its highest rate in nearly 13 years, with 2.47 million people out of work in the recession-hit country, official data has shown. The number of jobless increased by 210,000 in the three months leading up to July, figures showed on Wednesday, taking the unemployment rate up to 7.9 per cent, Britain's highest since November 1996. Analysts have also warned that while layoffs may be slowing, the rate could rise to three million by next year. "While the deepest job losses are now probably over, the outlook for the labour market remains far from encouraging," Howard Archer, a UK economist at Global Insight, an economic forecaster, said. "Doubts and concerns over the strength and sustainability of any recovery are likely to encourage businesses to keep their labour forces as tight as possible."

Confident City target top four

2009-08-12T13:27:00.000-07:00

If Manchester City wanted to rile Manchester United during the close-season they certainly went about it the right way - and not just by spending over $165 million on new players. The arrivals of Carlos Tevez from United, Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure from Arsenal, Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn and Gareth Barry from Aston Villa should certainly see City improve in the new English Premier League season starting this weekend. However, it is not the signings themselves that have got under the skin of Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson, who is plotting a title defence without world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo, sold to Real Madrid, as well as Tevez. What really rankles at Old Trafford is City's assertion that they are about to challenge for a place in the top four, and ultimately United's position as the biggest club in England. Under the skin City angered United fans when a huge banner was erected in the city centre showing Tevez in a City shirt with the slogan "Welcome to Manchester" underneath his photograph - a cheeky reference to the fact that United's home of Old Trafford is actually situated in Salford, outside Manchester city limits. "They are a small club with a small mentality," responded Ferguson. "All they can talk about is Manchester United." He continued: "It will not be easy for City this season, and for me they don't even come into the top four equation. "For all the buying they have done, Mark Hughes still has to find the right balance, and what's he got - 1O strikers?" Since Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan took control of City last year, manager Hughes has spent over $362 million on new players, including the British record $53 million he paid for Brazilian Robinho at the start of last season. Anything other than a top four finish will be regarded as a failure at City, who last mounted a realistic title bid in 1976-77 when they finished as runners-up to Liverpool. They have not won a major trophy since the League Cup in 1976 and since returning to the Premier League in 2002, their best finishing position was eighth in 2005.

mohamed is our prophet - hamada hlal

2009-08-12T13:20:00.000-07:00

Naterr aalbawaba - abdelfattah awinate

2009-07-26T05:53:00.000-07:00

UK economy suffers worst annual dip

2009-07-25T05:27:00.000-07:00

Britain's economy has suffered its biggest annual decline on record. Hopes of a quick recovery from the UK's worst recession for 30 years were ended on Friday when the government disclosed the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) fell 0.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2009. The latest fall for April to June brings the annual rate of decline to 5.6 per cent, the steepest drop since 1955 and more than double what economists had predicted. Ross Walker, UK economist at RBS Financial Markets, said: "These are awful, awful numbers. "It casts doubt on whether we will actually see growth in the third quarter." Analysts shocked The contraction also comes amid a record fall in manufacturing output and major losses in financial services.

H1N1 virus spreads to 160 countries

2009-07-25T05:25:00.001-07:00

The H1N1 flu virus has spread to at least 160 countries across the world, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said. The global virus, which the UN health agency declared a pandemic in June, has resulted in nearly 800 deaths worldwide since it was first detected in Mexico four months ago, WHO officials said in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday. "The spread of this virus continues, if you see 160 out of 193 WHO member states now have cases, so we are nearing almost 100 per cent, but not quite yet," said Gregory Hartl, a WHO spokesman. "For the moment we haven't seen any changes in the behaviour of the virus," he said. "What we are seeing still is a geographic expansion across countries." H1N1 cases double The WHO says the number of H1N1 cases has doubled in the last three weeks, with most of the deaths from the virus concentrated in the Americas. But the spread of the disease into other continents continues, as authorities in Britain announced more than 100,000 infections were diagnosed in the country last week. Hartl said the pandemic strain is causing mainly mild symptoms, but he warned that the virus could mutate with the onset of colder temperatures in the northern hemisphere. "We don't know how the virus will change going forward," he said. "We do have to be aware that there could be changes and we have to be prepared for those." Health officials and pharmaceutical companies are looking into ways to speed up production of an H1N1 vaccine before the northern hemisphere enters its flu season in the fall. Hartl said he expects the first doses of a vaccine to be available for use in early autumn of the northern hemisphere. New phenomenon But Dr Keiji Fukuda, the assistant director-general of health security and environment at the WHO, warned that the situation will continue to change. "Right now we're trying to get a handle on what is the real effect of the infection with this particular virus," he told Al Jazeera on Friday. "We're dealing with a very new phenomenon, a new virus, a virus which is spreading to most countries in the world and over the next year, probably all countries," he said. "In the current situation, most people who are getting infected develop mild illnesses ... they get better. However, what is of concern is we continue to see people die from the virus. "What we want to know is, is this pattern going to change?"

China arrests 'concern' Australia

2009-07-24T14:09:00.000-07:00

Australia's trade minister has expressed concern over the detention of a Rio Tinto mining company employee accused of stealing state secrets from China. Simon Crean met Chinese officials in Shanghai on Saturday, nearly a week after Chinese authorities detained four employees of the Anglo-Australian mining giant, including an Australian citizen. Authorities have accused the Australian executive, Stern Hu, and three of his Chinese colleagues of stealing state secrets during negotiations over iron-ore prices. Crean, who is in China as part of a trade mission, said he pressed Chinese officials for more details on the detentions, but he said he does not expect the case to affect bilateral trade ties. "We've stressed the importance of getting further and better details," he said. "We have no information as to what the investigation does involve. We're going on the basis of press reports. The government here is not able to inform us anymore.

European gas pipeline deal signed

2009-07-24T14:07:00.000-07:00

Four European Union countries have signed an agreement with Turkey to construct a gas pipeline that it is hoped would reduce their reliance on supplies from Russia. The prime ministers of Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Turkey, signed an accord in the Turkish capital on Monday after Ankara's concerns over the Nabucco project were addressed. Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the European commission, the EU's executive body, said that the pipeline was "of crucial importance for [the] EU's and Turkey's energy security". The 3,300km pipeline is due to become operational in 2014 at an estimated cost of $10.9bn, with a capacity to pump 31bn cubic metres of gas from the Caspian Sea to Austria via Turkey and the Balkans, bypassing Russia. The project is aimed to avoiding a repetition of supply cuts that disrupted Russian supplies to Europe last winter, during an energy dispute between Ukraine and Moscow. About one quarter of all gas used in Europe currently comes from Russia, with several southern European countries depending almost exclusively on Russian supplies.

GM and Ford suspend Russian plants

2009-07-24T06:25:00.000-07:00

General Motors and Ford, the US car manufacturers, have suspended operations on their production lines in Russia. The move comes as the deepening global economic crisis squeezes Russian consumers' demand for new cars. GM said its brand new plant outside St Petersburg would halt manufacturing until August 31. "Having carefully studied the state of the Russian car market and the extent of reduction in the demand from the creditworthy population, we have decided not to force a production increase at our Russian plant this year," Chris Gubbey, GM Russia's president, said in a statement. The company said no major layoffs would occur among the plant's 1,000 employees, though it was unclear whether that might signal smaller-scale cutbacks or unpaid temporary leaves of absence. Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's president, visit the assembly plant in Shushary near St Petersburg in November. The $300m venture was initially set to produce 60,000 cars a year.

Hol Yallah - Abdelqader Quzae

2009-07-24T06:21:00.000-07:00

Mabiljafa - abdelaziz abdelghani

2009-07-24T06:19:00.000-07:00

BP group wins Iraq oil contract

2009-07-24T06:15:00.000-07:00

An oil consortium led by British Petroleum has won a contract to develop a large oil field in Iraq, as dozens of international firms compete for the rights to the nation's oil and gas reserves. BP, along with China's CNPC, secured the contract for the Rumaila oil field on Tuesday, the largest of Iraq's six oil fields on offer to foreign and state-owned companies. The contract race is the first opportunity for global energy giants to gain a hold in the country since the Baath party nationalised the Iraq Petroleum Company in 1972, seven years before former president Saddam Hussein took power. The Rumaila field is estimated to hold 3.3 trillion cubic feet of oil reserves, but also lies in Diyala province, which has seen some of Iraq's worst violence in recent years.

Tafaali - abderrahman bouhbila

2009-07-09T06:06:00.001-07:00

Sri Lanka doctors 'inflated' deaths

2009-07-09T06:03:00.000-07:00

Five Sri Lankan doctors have recanted their allegations that thousands of civilians were killed in the final days of the government's war with the Tamil Tiger separatists. The doctors, who are being held by Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigation Department, said on Wednesday that they were pressured into giving exaggerated figures. "The LTTE [Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam] threatened doctors to give information to the outside and sometimes they came with a list of numbers," Dr Thangarajha Sathyamoorthi said. The doctors were arrested after giving a series of telephone interviews to the media stating that the Sri Lankan military had shelled civilian areas causing thousands of casualties. "The majority of the people were killed and injured in crossfire and when people were trying to come into the army-controlled area. But we were ordered to exaggerate the figures," Dr V Shanmugarajah said.

Wimbledon blog: Semi-final preview

2009-07-02T11:57:00.000-07:00

Nobody would have bet against Roger Federer being the first man into the semi- finals of Wimbledon this year. He has been the form player of the tournament, only dropping one set on his way to his seventh consecutive Wimbledon semi. His skill in dispatching giant Ivo Karlovic, who hit 160 aces throughout his run in SW19, was nothing short of stunning. It was simply too easy. Should the Swiss star win the title for the sixth time, he will regain the tag as the best male player in the world, and possibly of the modern era. There were sceptics who thought his chances of another Grand Slam were over following his loss here last year, but he has proved those critics wrong, and is looking unbeatable. Tommy Haas, the oldest of the four semi-finalists, took Federer to five sets at the French Open last month, and even had break points to serve for the match in the third set. He crumbled, Federer motored, and the match was over. It will take a miracle for the German veteran to even take a set off the world number two. He enjoyed a splendid win over world number four Novak Djokovic in the quarters, but the Serb does not look like himself. Not to take credit away from the 24th seed, a clever match was played, flummoxing the fourth seed into submission. But the 14-time Grand Slam Champion will not be outplayed by the former world number two. Federer will reach another final and will no doubt be the favourite to make history.

US data shows unemployment on rise

2009-07-02T11:56:00.001-07:00

About 467,000 people in the US lost their jobs in June, raising the national unemployment rate to a 26-year-high of 9.5 per cent, data from the US labour department has shown. The information, which was released on Thursday, marks a steep increase in job losses over the previous month, when 322,000 people became unemployed. The unemployment rate for in the June report rose by 0.1 per cent from the 9.5 per cent rate in the previous month’s survey. Speaking after the report, Barack Obama, the US president, said that he remains "deeply concerned" about the scale of job losses across the country. Coming up with both a short-term and longer-term solution to the country's economic troubles is "one of the things that I'm most focused on", he told the Associated Press news agency. Obama said he is confident that his economic team has succeeded in bringing stability to the housing and financial markets, but he admitted that more work needs to be done to create jobs.

Eurozone jobless hits ten-year high

2009-07-02T11:55:00.001-07:00

Unemployment in the 16-nation euro zone has climbed to 9.5 per cent, its highest rate in a decade, EU data shows. More than 15 million people are out of work across the zone, with around 273,000 jobs lost in May, the Eurostat data agency estimated. The increase in jobless was expected, with the eurozone experiencing a 2.5 per cent drop in output in the first quarter of 2009. "Deep and extended economic contraction, depressed business confidence and deteriorating profitability is pushing unemployment up sharply across the eurozone," Howard Archer, an economist at consultants IHS Global Insight, said. The May eurozone unemployment rate was up from 9.3 per cent in April and 7.4 per cent in May 2008.

US launches major Afghan assault

2009-07-02T11:52:00.000-07:00

US forces have launched a major military operation in southern Afghanistan in the first big push to drive the Taliban out of a stronghold since Barack Obama became US president. Up to 4,000 marines, backed by Nato aircraft and a 650-strong Afghan force, are moving into towns in Helmand province, where the Taliban has been intensifying its challenge to the Kabul government and allied forces. Pentagon officials say the plan - said to be the largest US marine offensive since Vietnam - is not just to inflict casualties against the enemy, but to dig in and hold on to territory. "We're gonna go there and go to the far reaches where the Taliban is not looking for us, where they're not expecting a fight, where they're not sitting in prepared defensive positions and that's gonna keep them off-balance," spokesman Captain Zachary Martin said. Helmand province is one of the Taliban's main heartlands in southern Afghanistan and produces the largest share of the country's opium crop, which supplies about 90 per cent of the world's heroin. 'Loss of support' Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr, reporting from Kabul, said a similar offensive had been attempted in the same region in April last year, but US and UK troops pulled out afterwards and the Taliban moved back. She said this time the "US forces say they will stay there and train local forces until they can take over".

Thob Alfarah - Kifah Zreqaty

2009-06-09T14:02:00.000-07:00

Yateer - Ashraf yousef

2009-06-09T13:53:00.000-07:00

2009-06-09T13:43:00.001-07:00

Yadar - Abelfattah Awinate

2009-06-09T13:38:00.001-07:00

Aishha Maana - Ashraf Yousef

2009-06-09T13:36:00.000-07:00

Nathra Ainik - Omar Saaidi

2009-06-09T13:34:00.001-07:00

US banks to repay bailout funds

2009-06-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

The US treasury department has given its approval for 10 of the nation's largest banks to start repaying about $68bn of bailout money they were lent to combat a liquidity crisis. The department did not name the banks but US media reports said those who will repay funds included American Express, Capital One Financial, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs. Analysts say the move indicates that the US government has confidence in the banks' viability after months of financial instability in the country. Many of the banks had also resented the restrictions placed on the bailout funds regarding executive pay that the US government had imposed. "These repayments are an encouraging sign of financial repair, but we still have work to do," Timothy Geithner, the US treasury secretary, said in a one-page statement on Tuesday. Geithner has also said the money paid back into the $700bn bailout fund by healthy banks can be reused to help smaller banks, even those who have already received a bailout. Economists say that allowing some banks to repay money to the government's Troubled Asset Relief Programme (Tarp) will effectively begin the process of separating stronger banks from weaker ones as the financial sector slowly recovers. More than 600 banks across the country have received funds from the bailout so far.

Pilot alert after Air France crash

2009-06-09T13:27:00.000-07:00

French aircraft pilots have been advised to stop flying certain types of Airbus after faulty aircraft equipment was blamed for last week's Air France crash that left 228 people dead. The Alter union, which represents about 12 per cent of pilots at France's national carrier, advised its members on Tuesday to stop flying Airbus A330/A340 aircraft until Air France replaces speed sensors on the aircraft. Bruno Finatti, the head of Alter, said: "The sensors are probably responsible so we are saying that Air France should err on the side of caution. "What we've asked for is for the pilots who are flying those planes to make sure that the sensors have been changed." 'Inconsistencies' The bodies of 24 people have been recovered from the site in the Atlantic Ocean where Air France flight 447 went down en route between Rio de Janeiro and Paris on June 1. The plane disappeared from radar screens after flying into turbulence. Investigators have said there were "inconsistencies" with the speed readings prior to the crash, raising speculation that speed sensors on the aircraft, known as pitot tubes, may have iced up, feeding wrong information to the cockpit and confusing the pilots as they hit a storm.

Deaths in Peshawar hotel attack

2009-06-09T13:25:00.000-07:00

Deaths in Peshawar hotel attack At least 11 people are reported to have been killed and 46 wounded after a gun and suicide truck bomb attack on a five-star hotel in the Pakistani city of Peshawar. Armed men entered the Pearl Continental hotel in the northwestern city on Tuesday and explosives were then detonated, government and security officials said. "It was a suicide attack," Sefwat Ghayur, Peshawar's police chief, said. "Occupants of a double-cabin pick-up truck forced their way in, firing at the security guards. The attackers struck their vehicle into the hotel building, and it exploded on impact." Mian Iftikhar Hussain, provincial information minister, said that two foreigners were among the dead. "It would be too early to say anything about the identities of the foreigners," he said. Medical and rescue efforts at the blast site have been complicated by power blackouts following the explosion. 'Popular' hotel Peshawar is the capital of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) where Pakistani government forces have battled fighters loyal to the Taliban in recent weeks. Taliban fighters had threatened to stage a series of attacks against civilian and government targets in retaliation for the military offensive in the province.

Nations oppose Americas declaration

2009-06-02T11:30:00.000-07:00

Several leaders at the Summit of the Americas are unlikely to sign the final declaration due to disagreements on the global economy and Cuba. Venezuela, Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominica and Bolivia all said on Saturday that they would not agree to the final commitments, Al Jazeera's Dima Khatib reported. "These countries say that they do not accept the final declaration because it is insufficient and unacceptable," Khatib said. "The reasons that these countries give are many. One of them is that the declaration doesn't tackle the problem of capitalism being the reason for the financial crisis that the world is living with right now.

Sami Yusuf - Ya Mustafa Canlı(Live)

2009-04-18T11:45:00.001-07:00

hasbbi rabbi sami yusuf

2009-04-18T11:38:00.001-07:00

Sami Yusuf Eid Song

2009-04-18T11:37:00.001-07:00

Allahu Allah- by Sami Yusuf and Mesut Kurtis

2009-04-18T11:35:00.001-07:00

Facing hunger in Kenya's Kajiado

2009-04-18T11:33:00.000-07:00

Penina Laloi sings a lullaby as she tries to calm her five-year-old son who has been crying uncontrollably. Soon, she herself breaks down as she explains that her family has not had any food to eat in almost three days. Laloi and her three children have been surviving on the remnants of two packets of maize flour that well-wishers "from the city" donated when they visited her remote village in the Kajiado district, south west of the capital Nairobi.

Lamma Nistachhid - Mohamed Bashar

2009-04-07T15:23:00.000-07:00

Hikayate Sarah - Mostapha Azzawi

2009-04-07T15:16:00.000-07:00

Nawwir Darbi - Abdelmajeed Alfawzan

2009-04-07T15:10:00.001-07:00

Ya da Aljalali - Yahya Hawa

2009-03-18T06:03:00.000-07:00

UK unemployment passes two million

2009-03-18T06:02:00.001-07:00

More than two million people are out of work in Britain, the country's highest unemployment rate in 12 years, official data has shown. Unemployment rose to 6.5 per cent in the three months ending in December, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, as Britain weathers its first recession in 18 years. The number of unemployed people increased by 165,000 over the quarter and by 421,000 over the year, the ONS said, reaching 2.03 million.

Clinton pressures Sudan's president

2009-03-18T05:59:00.001-07:00

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, has said the Sudanese president will be responsible for "every single death" caused by the expulsion of 13 foreign aid groups from war-torn Darfur. Clinton's comments came weeks after Omar al-Bashir ordered the agencies out of the country accusing them of siding with the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has indicted him for alleged war crimes.

US vows to recover AIG money

2009-03-18T05:56:00.000-07:00

Amid mounting anger over bailed-out American International Group's move to give its employees $165m in bonuses, the Obama administration has pledged to force the insurance company to pay the money back. Timothy Geithner, the treasury secretary, said on Tuesday that AIG would have to promise to reimburse taxpayers as a condition for receiving a further $30bn of bailout money from the government. "We will impose on AIG a contractual commitment to pay the treasury from the operations of the company the amount of the retention awards just paid," Geithner said in a letter to congressional leaders.

ghazza - Yahya Hawa

2009-01-11T05:13:00.000-08:00

Israel 'using white phosphorus'

2009-01-11T05:09:00.000-08:00

Israel 'using white phosphorus'

White phophorus, fired in a shell, can be used to hide troop movements or illuminate targets [AFP]

Human Rights Watch has called on Israel to stop using white phosphorus which it says has been used in military operations in the densely populated Gaza Strip.

The US-based group said that its researchers observed the use of the chemical, which can burn away human flesh to the bone, over Gaza City and Jabaliya on Friday and Saturday.

"We went by Israeli artillery units that had white phosphorus rounds with the fuses in them," Marc Garlasco, a senior military analyst at Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera.

Hamas: Gaza war an end to peace bid

2009-01-11T05:05:00.000-08:00

Hamas: Gaza war an end to peace bid

Meshaal said that any international monitoring force in Gaza would be treated as an occupation force [AFP]

Hamas has said that the Gaza war has put an end to chances of negotiations with Israel, calling on Arabs to pressure Tel Aviv to cease its attacks on the Gaza Strip.

In a televised speech on Saturday, Khaled Meshaal, the exiled-Hamas political leader, said Israel's offensive on Gaza, which has killed more than 850 Palestinians, had failed because Hamas was still firing rockets at Israel.

"You have finished off the last chance and breath for settlement and negotiations," Meshaal said.

"In all modesty ... I can say with full confidence that on the military level the enemy has totally failed, it has not achieved anything.

Rescue begins after Pakistan quake

2008-10-29T11:01:00.000-07:00

Thousands have been displaced due
to the quake [REUTERS]

Rescue efforts have begun after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake in southwestern Pakistan killed more than 170 people.

The quake early on Wednesday has left more than 15,000 people homeless, with many victims still buried under rubble, officials said.

Medical teams and aid for survivors were arriving in Baluchistan province after the quake caused buildings to collapse and prompted widespread panic.

Al Jazeera's Imran Khan, having arrived in the provincial capital of Quetta on the first Pakistani air force aid flight into the area, said: "The army has now been deployed and aid is being unloaded on to trucks.

"There will be a lot of people still stuck under the rubble and it is getting dark here ... which will hamper [relief] efforts, so we may well see the death toll rise," he said.

Khan reported that locals were scared to stay in their homes because of fears of aftershocks and many people were trying to leave the area.

Video

Pakistan quake catastrophe

"Roads out of Ziarat [the epicentre] are packed. It is a chaotic scene down there."

Khan said that the government is not asking for international assistance.

About 12 hours after the initial earthquake an aftershock of 6.2 magnitude rocked the region, but there were no immediate reports of additional casualties or damage.

Troops and helicopters

A Pakistani military spokesman said about 250 troops and two helicopters had been sent to Ziarat from Quetta, while an aerial assessment of the damage was also under way.

People fled their homes after the first quake hit Baluchistan province before dawn [AFP]

"The destruction is heavy, people need immediate help and we are providing assistance to the affected people," Colonel Mohammed Babar said.

Retired Lieutenant-General Faruq Ahmed, chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority, said tents, blankets and food had been sent to the area along with medical teams to treat the injured.

Maulvi Abdul Samad Akhunzada, a provincial minister, said: "Around 15,000 people have been affected, 1,500 houses have collapsed. More than 150 people have been killed and countless are injured."

"We require tents, items of food and medicines. Teams of doctors should also be dispatched immediately."

Dilawar Khan, chief of the Ziarat district, said that hundreds of mud houses had collapsed, while further damage was reported in neighbouring Pishin district.

Khan said that some houses had been buried in a landslide triggered by the earthquake.

"Rescue work is being carried out by the villagers themselves, but a larger operation is needed here," he said.

Hospital overloaded

A reporter for Associated Press news agency saw dozens of bodies and injured in a hospital in Kawas in Ziarat district. Mohammed Irfan, a doctor, said the hospital was unable to cope with the number of injured it was receiving.

Sohail-ur-Rehman, another provincial official, said that the authorities were rushing to help about 15,000 homeless people and to bury the dead.

"Graves are being dug with excavators as we can't keep dead bodies in the open," he said.

Sanaullah, a resident, told the Associated Press news agency: "When the earthquake occurred, I was sleeping in my building with my children and suddenly I heard a noise and I recognised it was an earthquake.

"I ran to get my children. The window broke and my hand was injured and now I am waiting with my children on the roadside."

The earthquake took place at the shallow depth of 10km and hit about 70km northeast of Quetta, the US Geographical Survey said.

The Pakistani Meteorological Department said that two quakes had struck before dawn, the second of which was larger than the first.

Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, said: "The first quake struck at 4.35am [22:35 GMT on Tuesday] forcing people out onto the streets, and then at about 5.10am the stronger second quake, measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale, is said to have hit."

Hyder said that Quetta, however, had largely escaped extensive damage.

But Imran Khan reported: "In Quetta we are seeing a ghost town. Normally this place would be buzzing, the shops would be open, people would be in restaurants ... but people are scared of going inside buildings."

Quetta was largely destroyed and about 30,000 people were killed in a severe earthquake in 1935.

The region's worst earthquake was in October 2005 when about 75,000 people were killed, most of them in mountainous northern Pakistan, in a 7.6 magnitude quake.

Man Utd 3-0 Celtic

2008-10-21T14:45:00.000-07:00

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Man Utd 3-0 Celtic

By Phil McNulty

Dimitar Berbatov celebrates his second goal with Wayne Rooney

Manchester United strolled to victory to leave Celtic's Champions League hopes hanging by a slender thread.

Dimitar Berbatov looked offside when he flicked home a close-range finish to put United ahead after 30 minutes.

And there were similar doubts about his second, turned in on the rebound after Celtic keeper Artur Boruc could not hold Cristiano Ronaldo's free-kick.

Wayne Rooney emphasised the gulf in class between the sides with a 20-yard shot on the turn with 14 minutes left.

United are now sitting pretty at the top of Group E and on course to qualify for the knockout stages, but Villarreal's win against Aalborg leaves Celtic with an uphill task to emerge from the group phase.

Gordon Strachan's side was below-strength and it showed as they never looked like making a dent in a dismal Champions League record on their travels that now reads played 17, lost 16 and drawn one.

But they will also point to two debatable United goals, although in reality they were massively inferior to their English counterparts.

Manchester United lost Rio Ferdinand with a groin injury, but Ronaldo kept his place despite speculation that he might be rested - and he played his part in a vibrant first-half display from Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

It was Celtic, however, who posted the first danger after 11 minutes when Aiden McGeady forced Edwin van der Sar into a save low to his left with a 20-yard shot.

United went ahead on the half-hour, but it was a contentious moment that will have left Celtic and their massed ranks of supporters nursing a sense of injustice.

When John O'Shea jabbed the ball into the danger area following Nani's corner, Berbatov was clearly in an offside position as he flicked a finish beyond Boruc.

Scotland captain Darren Fletcher should have made it two on the stroke of half-time when he cut inside and shot over the top from only 12 yards.

United doubled their lead six minutes after half-time, but again Celtic will ask justifiable questions about the legitimacy of the goal.

Boruc could only palm out Ronaldo's vicious long-range free kick for Berbatov to turn in the rebound, but the Bulgarian appeared to be in an offside position when the ball was struck.

Rooney had the ball in the net again seconds later but it was ruled out for offside, although this time it was United who could ponder a questionable decision.

Ferguson made a double change on the hour, sending on Carlos Tevez and Wes Brown for Berbatov and Gary Neville.

And the Argentine almost got in on the act instantly with a 25-yard shot that was deflected just inches wide.

Celtic had sent on substitutes of their own, with Paul Hartley and Shaun Maloney replacing Barry Robson and Shunsuke Nakamura - but they were having trouble creating any clear-cut opportunities.

And they were powerless to stop United as they swept forward to add a third with 14 minutes left, almost inevitably through Rooney.

A move that started with Van der Sar's throw out ended with the in-form England striker scoring on the turn from 20 yards to make it seven goals in seven games for club and country.

It was a fitting flourish to another outstanding display by Rooney as United continue to move ominously into top gear.

US to host global finance talks

2008-10-18T14:38:00.000-07:00

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US to host global finance talks

The US-hosted event comes after Sarkozy proposed a meeting involving world leaders [Reuters]

George Bush, the US president, has offered to host an international conference aimed at overcoming the global financial crisis, without setting a firm date.

Bush made the invitation on Saturday after meeting Nicolas Sarkozy, France's president, and Jose Manuel Barroso, European Commission chief, at Camp David, Maryland.

"I look forward to hosting this meeting in the near future ... so we can ensure that this crisis does not happen again," Bush said.

The three leaders are trying to find ways to tackle the most severe global economic crisis since the US Great Depression of the 1930s.

"The first task is to stabilise the financial markets in our own countries. Given that the world has never been more interconnected, it is essential that we work together," Bush said.

Appeal to change

Sarkozy called for world leaders to work together to drastically change the character of the global financial system.

"This is a worldwide crisis, so we must find a worldwide solution. Each region of the world is trying to find an answer to the crisis, but this answer will be all the more effective if we find it together and build the capitalism of the future," he said.

"I deeply believe that this is a great opportunity to not fall back into the hateful practives of the past; practives that have led to where we are now."

Nick Spicer, Al Jazeera's correspondent at the White House in Washington DC, said the two presidents appear to have different views on how to tackle the crisis.

"Bush talked about the need for 'democratic capitalism' to be defended, including free markets ... while in the European perspective, Sarkozy talked about rebuilding a better capitalism, using more dreamy rhetoric," he said.

"I think that highlights the clash that will be upcoming in the summit that Bush said he would be pleased to welcome - but one can ask how much can be achieved while Bush is a lame duck president."

Rescue plan

In recent days Bush has spoken of the need for change within the global financial system, after the US congress passed a $700bn bailout plan aimed at rescuing ailing US banks.

Stock markets around the world have plunged in recent weeks in the wake of the collapse of Bear Stearns, a US investment bank, and a string of nationalisations and partial nationalisations of banks by European govermments.

In a speech in Washington on Friday, Bush had said that new regulation of the financial sector could result in "undesirable consequences" for the wider economy.

Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, said on Saturday that he had "strong support" for a meeting involving world leaders and representatives from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.

"We both agree that there is no time to lose, and therefore, I fully subscribe to your idea of convening such a forum in early December at the latest," Ban said in a letter to Sarkozy, who had proposed the summit on Saturday while at the Francophonie summit in Quebec, Canada.

The meeting proposed by Bush is likely to cover different ground to the summit suggested by Sarkozy, Spicer said.

"When Sarkozy, Barroso and Bush meet they would not be talking about re-founding the IMF or creating a new type of capitalism, which Sarkozy has been calling for," he said.

"President Bush has been talking about defending the free market principles dear to Americans, whereas Sarkozy has been speaking of a new kind of capitalism built on a human scale that does not enshrine the profit motive. So I think we'll have a clash of ideals at this meeting."

Ban has offered the summit proposed by Sarkozy to be held at the UN secretariat in New York, saying this would "lend universal legitimacy to this endeavour and demonstrate a collective will to face this serious global challenge."

The global financial crisis has been most acutely felt in Iceland, which is on the verge of bankruptcy.

Three of the country’s major banks have been nationalised after they failed to meet loan commitments to other banks.

Icelandic leaders have appealed to Russia to lend soft loans, but Moscow has so far not made any commitment on lending.

Source:

Al Jazeera and agencies

Obama's double-edged sword

2008-10-18T05:51:00.001-07:00

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Obama's double-edged sword

By Mark Seddon, diplomatic correspondent

Barack Obama received a rapturous welcome during his summer visit to Europe [AFP]

Here in Paris, as in the rest of Europe, there is overwhelming support for Barack Obama to become the next president of the United States.

That's hardly surprising given the strength of feeling against the Iraq war.

However, European support for Obama doesn't translate into votes and notoriously Americans don't like to be advised by Europeans, especially the British, as to how they should vote.

Obama's trip here in the summer was a veritable love-fest; but Obama and his campaign team are not going to use footage from his visit to Berlin, where he was treated like a rock star, for the folks back home.

Obama's critique of some aspects of the turbo-capitalism that was, for a long time, recommended as medicine to the French and Germans who persisted in maintaining a manufacturing base to their economy, goes down well here.

In truth though, his voice is being drowned out as those with the power to influence events make decisions.

Here in Europe, it is difficult to remember anything that Obama has said recently that would make matters better.

What are his policy prescriptions? Does he believe, as does Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, that capitalism must now be reformed?

Is he for a new Bretton Woods or even a Roosevelt New Deal?

'Economy stupid'

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic - and it is certainly true that supporters of the Obama campaign dare not say it for fear of it being used against them - each time the global economy and particularly the US economy takes a hit, their campaign gets another lift.

"We all knew that Bill Clinton's memorable election claim of the early nineties that 'it's the economy stupid', made sense, but this time it really is making the difference", says an old friend of mine from the Democratic National Committee.

And so it should in any rational analysis of the US election.

McCain's links with Bush present an awkward backdrop to his call for change [AFP]

John McCain is a Republican, and much as he may present himself as an outsider looking in, he has been an active member of the administration of George Bush, the US president, an administration that remained loyal to Reaganomics throughout.

That "economic philosophy" brought America - and the world - privatisation, deregulation, "Big Bang", the emergence of derivatives and, of course, what for some form the unacceptable face of capitalism, the hedge funds.

But then it is fair to say that the the Democrats under Bill Clinton, the former US president, became fellow travellers.

In fact, the lurch towards allowing mortgages for virtually anyone who wanted one regardless of income, came courtesy of Clinton's administration; who wanted a short cut to home ownership as a way of cutting inner city crime.

Fortunately for Obama he has not been a member of either administration, and even before the great global meltdown he was attacking the "trickle down" economics of his opponent.

This put him some way to the left of European leaders such as Gordon Brown, the British prime minister.

Brief party

But there the familiar territory of left and right ends, since Bush is now engaged in the biggest state intervention and nationalisation programme that the US and probably the world has ever seen.

Suddenly, voters on both sides of the Atlantic, always uneasy at the sky high salaries and bonuses being stacked up by bankers and traders, but quiescent because it was deemed unfashionable to criticise the God that was the Market, have woken up.

Now everyone is lining up to take aim, and those politicians and parties most identified with the years of excess are being punished.

Step forward then John McCain, whose campaign seems already dated, since it is focusing very much on the character of Obama, when the rest of America is focused on its mortgages, jobs and bank accounts.

For the first time I won't be reporting on the US presidential elections.

I can only watch from this side of the Atlantic as many of the movers and shakers I have known for years prepare, they hope, to reap the economic whirlwind and see their candidate, Barack Obama, move into the White House.

If they do, the party celebrations are likely to be brief.

Sayidi Mawlay - Mohamed Matari

2008-10-17T14:01:00.001-07:00

How Many Companions Do You Know?

2008-10-17T06:32:00.000-07:00

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How Many Companions Do You Know?

By Ali Al-Halawani

Deputy Editor in Chief — English IslamOnline.net

A respectful sister named Mona once told me that during a scholarly session with a Muslim preacher, the attendees were asked, "Do you know the names of the members of the Brazilian football national team?" To the questioner's surprise, they managed to recall the names of all the players not escaping even one of the reserves!

Then he asked them to recall the names of the wives of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). However, while recalling some of his wives —such as `A'ishah, Khadijah, and Sawdah —, other names such as Fatimah and Aminah were also mentioned, not knowing that the former is the Prophet's daughter, while the latter is his own mother! Finally, it turned out that the attendees, though some of whom, if not all, were supposedly seekers of Shari`ah-based and Islamic knowledge, could not recall all the names of the Prophet's wives!

Now, let us develop that preacher's simple question a little bit. Let us ask another but more difficult question: Have you, my dear reader, ever been asked, "How many Companions of the Prophet do you know? How many of them can you recall now?"

If not, now I am posing this same question to you.

Your answer may be, "One, ten, a dozen, a score, or even a hundred."

But, surely it will not be, "One thousand!"

It is very weird that none of us, myself included, can ever count more than a thousand companions, while in the Farewell Hajj there were about 100,000 of them accompanying the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). If one tries to check all the books on the Prophet's biography and the literature on the great Islamic liberation battles (i.e. Al-Futuhat Al-Islamiyyah), one will find a maximum of a thousand names of male and female Companions. Some scholars say that all the Companions who were mentioned in these books are no more than 10,000!

An inescapable question arises, "Where are the others? Where can one locate them?"

This is a very serious question; to answer it, let us move a little bit to the field of construction. Yes, when you see a high building, you naturally assume that the architect who designed and built it must have dug the ground and laid the deep foundations of that building in order for it to be stable and unshaken. Thus, for a mere building to be well-built and to be safe for man to take as a habitation, it should be deep-rooted in the earth with great amounts of concrete and steel employed.

The same is true when it comes to the true religion of Islam; it is a divine and sacred religion established by Almighty Allah. Yes, this is true, but not without a human effort. This is one of the laws put by Almighty Allah: For Islam to be well-established on earth and for it to survive in the way designed by Him, Muslims should shoulder their responsibilities and keep up their duties. Their efforts in this regard will be the criterion on which they will be called for final reckoning. One of the most fundamental duties Muslims should be heedful of is the duty of calling people, all people, to Islam and the Oneness of Allah.

If Allah intended to disseminate His religion on earth and make all people believe in Him, this would be a very easy thing for Him to do, for He is the Almighty, the All-Powerful Who can do whatever He wills. However, it is a test for us. If we succeed, we will be abundantly rewarded. But, if we fail to be up to our responsibilities, we will be held accountable for that, too. I have once heard a statement that went as follows, "Oh, what a religion! If only there are [real] men [to shoulder it]!"

Oh Allah, resurrect me with Sahib An-Naqb (the man of the hole)!

In a way to answer the question, this is how the building of Islam went high into the sky. It was set up through the efforts of more than 90 percent of those Companions whose names and life stories we don't know. Their efforts constituted the real foundation and spread of this religion. After Allah, were it not for their efforts, Islam would not have come to us as complete and perfect as it is now!

All I can think of now is the story of the man in the army of Maslamah ibn `Abdul-Malik. During one of the battles against the unbelievers, this man volunteered to enter the enemy's fortress through a hole for discarding wastes. After successfully doing this and thus bringing victory to Muslims, the leader, Maslamah, exerted much effort to identify and reward him. But, failing to make the man present himself publicly, Maslamah declared that he must come to his headquarters at any time, day or night. Maslamah did so after trying for three consecutive days to urge him to make himself known. Finally, while Maslamah was sitting in his own tent, a man covering his face entered. Maslamah asked him, "Are you the man who managed to open the door through the hole?" The man replied, "I am his messenger and he stipulates three conditions to make himself known to you." Maslamah said, "Speak up!" The man said, "First, you should not reward him. Second, you should not set him above other soldiers. Third, you should not inform the Caliph about his name." Maslamah nodded his head in agreement. Then, the man unveiled his face and said, "I am the man". Afterwards, Maslamah used to invoke Almighty Allah, saying, "Oh Allah, resurrect me with Sahib An-Naqb (Arabic for: the man of the hole)!" The name of this man was never mentioned anywhere and is still unknown until now!

This man and the like are the ones about whom Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Let none of you abuse (slander) my Companions. For by Him in Whose Hand is my life, if one of you spent (in the way of Allah) the equivalent of mount Uhud in gold, it would not reach a handful nor half a handful of what they spent (you will never reach their value)." (Al-Bukhari)

And whom Allah the Almighty says about,

(Of the believers are men who are true to that which they covenanted with Allah. Some of them have paid their vow by death (in battle), and some of them still are waiting; and they have not altered in the least.) (An-Nur 33:23)

They are the unknown soldiers, and the ideal models for loyalty, sacrifice, and selflessness.

They were people treading on the ground, while their hearts were attached to the Creator.

Their foreheads hoisted high in the sky till they touched the clouds.

They regarded as their leader no one but Allah and thus their goal was crystal clear to them: seeking the pleasure of Allah Alone.

They were heedless of the people's praise and negligent of their dispraise.

They would prefer to sink deep in the ground to being seen by anyone else while they worship Almighty Allah or call people to venerate Him.

Many people now do not recognize them, but it suffices them that Allah knows them.

May Allah resurrect us with them or make us similar to them. Amen.

There remains a final word that should not be overlooked. It goes without saying that beside these thousands of Companions whom we do not know by name, there were some famous ones about whom we almost know everything and some others whose lives we know a little of. These were made known to us by Almighty Allah so as to be landmarks and guiding stars in the darkness of this present life. They were made famous to help us deduce from them, their biographies, or even glimpses of their lives, life lessons and wisdom that may help us go through the journey of life till we meet with them all under the shade of the Throne of the All-Merciful, being encompassed by His Mercy.

Ali Al-Halawani is a doctoral candidate, the managing editor of the Shari`ah Department (English IslamOnline.net), and deputy editor in chief of the the same site. He graduated from Al-Azhar University and got his MA in religious translation from the Faculty of Al-Alsun (Languages), Al-Minia University. He writes occasionally for Islamonline.net. You can reach him at ali.halawani@iolteam.com.

Pakistan's China Card

2008-10-17T06:30:00.000-07:00

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Pakistan's China Card

By Aamir Latif, IOL Correspondent

As Pakistan's deteriorating economy reaches a new critical phase, Islamabad is seeking help from the old Chinese friend. (Reuters)

ISLAMABAD — With the global financial crisis pushing it to the brink and its strategic relations with the US strained, Pakistan is once again returning to an old trump card, China.

"Pakistan is using the China card to put pressure on the US and get more concessions," Dr. Shameem Akhtar, an international relations expert, told IslamOnline.net.

President Asif Ali Zardari is currently on a four-day state visit to Beijing aimed at rustling up crucial Chinese investments in the country.

China vowed earlier Thursday to do what it could to help cash-strapped Pakistan avert a financial disaster.

"As a long friend of Pakistan, China understands it is facing some financial difficulties," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters.

"We're ready to support and help Pakistan within our capability."

Zardari met Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao Wednesday, October 15, and signed eleven agreements, including one on economic cooperation, to strengthen their decades-old ties.

"This is not the 19th or 20th century when one country can depend on one particular big power," says Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmad, a security analyst.

"In my opinion, Pakistan is exploring all possible avenues to develop itself."

Pakistan’s economy is registering a nosedive on major economic indicators.

The rupee currently stands at 80 against one US dollar whereas just six months ago, one dollar was equal to Rs 60.

The country’s trade deficit stands at 12 billion dollars, which is the highest ever in its 61-year old history.

The global financial crisis has pushed Pakistan closer to the brink and reports, denied by Islamabad, claim the country faces bankruptcy as soon as February.

America, Pakistan's main ally in recent years, is not in position to help since the economic meltdown was triggered by the collapse of several Wall Street giants.

Old Friends

China has long been one of Pakistan's closest regional partners, with Beijing looking to Islamabad as a counterbalance to India.

"China wants to invest heavily in Pakistan, and it has stated its desire on many occasions," notes Mushahid Hussein, a senior security and diplomatic analyst.

He recognizes, however, that despite the Chinese desire for stronger ties with Pakistan, there were always two main hurdles.

"However, the major hurdle in this regard is lack of security in Pakistan."

China has provided some $450 million to fund the new port of Gawadar in Balochistan province not far from the ultra strategic straits of Hormuz, hoping it would provide Chinese ships direct access to the Gulf and Central Asian states.

However, a number of Chinese engineers working in the port have been abducted and killed by unknown attackers in recent years, forcing the Chinese companies working in the project to leave.

"The abduction of Chinese engineers and threats to Chinese citizens residing in Pakistan compounded the situation," Dr. Akhtar said.

"Ironically the Gawadar port was built with the help of China, and was practically handed over to Americans."

The other major hurdle for Pakistan-China cooperation, experts affirm, is Islamabad's US ties.

"China doesn’t like the growing US influence in the region as it considers that a threat to its security," Akhtar says.

"China thinks that due to the US and the NATO influence in the region, pressure is increasing on it," Hussein concurs.

Indispensable America

"Improving relations with China doesn’t mean that Pakistan is severing its ties with the US," Ahmad said.

But analysts agree that no matter was assistance Beijing would offer, America remains indispensable for Pakistan.

"No doubt, it is a wise move from the Pakistani establishment to return to our old friends, but I am not sure whether this will work," says Akhtar, the international relations expert.

"I don’t think that America will come under pressure by this move because it knows that Pakistan cannot survive without its support," he said.

"Pakistan has never come out of the US orbit."

Dr. Ahmad, the Islamabad-based security analyst, agrees.

"Improving relations with China doesn’t mean that Pakistan is severing its ties with the US, not at all."

He contends that neither Pakistan nor China can afford to lose Washington.

"Even China cannot survive without American markets.

"China is the largest producer to US markets, and its economic policies are more capitalist than US and Europe," said Dr. Ahmad.

"Pakistan is dealing with a pragmatic China, which has no ambitions to stay away from this economic world."

Do Not Insult Prophet Companions: IUMS

2008-10-17T06:29:00.000-07:00

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Do Not Insult Prophet Companions: IUMS

By Mohammad Sabrah, IOL Correspondent

IUMS stressed the necessity of mutual respect among Muslim schools of thought.

DOHA — The International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS) has underlined the importance of unity, criticizing insults to Prophet Muhammad's Companions and attempts to spread the Shiite school in Sunni-majority communities or the other way around.

"We reaffirm the unity of the Muslim ummah with all its schools of thought," the IUMS said in a statement at the conclusion of its Board of Trustees two-day meeting in the Qatari capital Doha.

The scholars underlined the importance of showing respect to the Companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), his wives and his Household.

"It is prohibited to defame or insult any of them," said the statement, asking that relevant fatwas be publicized.

The IUMS urged a halt to organized and sponsored attempts to spread the Shiite or Sunni school of thoughts in countries where the other school is prevalent.

It stressed the necessity of mutual respect among Muslim schools of thought.

"The rights of minorities following one school of thought or the other should be respected."

The two-day meeting was attended by IUMS Chairman Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, Deputy Chairman Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Taskhiri and Secretary General Dr. Mohammad Salim Al-Awwa.

Also attending was a galaxy of prominent Muslim scholars from around the world including Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, Dr. Esam Al-Bashir, Dr. Jamal Badawi, Sheikh Salman Al-Ouda, Dr. Ali Al-Qura Daghi and many others.

The Dublin-based IUMS was launched in July, 2004, in the British capital as an independent body and a reference for all Muslims worldwide.

Defending Qaradawi

The scholars denounced insults to Sheikh Al-Qaradawi after his recent warning of attempts by some Shiite groups and organizations to spread their school of thought in Sunni-majority countries.

"The board strongly condemns insults against Sheikh Qaradawi and attempts to tarnish his distinguished legacy in defending Islamic causes and the unity of the nation."

The IUMS urged Tehran to take punitive actions against the Mehr News Agency (MNA), an news agency affiliated to the Iranian Islamic Propagation Organization, over its smear campaign against Qaradawi.

The agency had described the prominent Muslim scholar as an agent of Zionism.

The IUMS asked the agency to issue an apology for Sheikh Qaradawi over the series of allegations and ungrounded accusations leveled against the revered scholar.

Hojatoleslam Ali Akbar Muhtashami, a senior Shiite authority and a former interior minister, had criticized the Mehr accusations.

"This does not reflect the official stance of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he told IslamOnline.net.

The sixth conference on Al-Quds, held in Doha earlier this week, witnessed a warm exchange between Qaradawi and Ali Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to Iranian spiritual leader Ali Khamenei.

Prophet Muhammad as a Strategic Planner

2008-10-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

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Prophet Muhammad as a Strategic Planner

Part One: Migration to Abyssinia

By Ali Al-Halawani

Deputy Editor in Chief — English IslamOnline.net

An expert in strategic planning, Dr. Carter McNamara defines the term as follows:

Simply put, strategic planning determines where an organization is going over the next year or more, how it is going to get there, and how it will know if it got there or not. The focus of a strategic plan is usually on the entire organization, while the focus of a business plan is usually on a particular product, service, or program. ( 1)

Although I am not a strategic planner by profession, I have received special training on this sort of planning on two or more occasions. Through this training, I grasped some idea of the nature of strategic planning and its importance for any entity aspiring to progress or even to survival.

I learned that no ambitious organization can progress without planning or trying to foresee the future via applying famous measures, such as SWOT analysis (analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats). Also, other tools are used in the analysis of all that is involved in the process of operating this entity.

This should be the behavior of today's Muslims, whether they are employees at some institution, citizens in a country, or individuals in the Muslim Ummah as a whole. All Muslims should apply strategic planning in one way or another to preserve their identity and even the very existence of the Muslim Ummah.

Lessons From Seerah

To scheme a strategic plan for the future, Muslims should look into their history to learn lessons and derive wisdom. Many incidents in the biography (seerah) of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) reveal his personal skills and inherent talent bestowed on him by Almighty Allah. Out of these incidents and the way he tackled them, numerous lessons can be learned and countless pieces of wisdom can be cherished.

Among the skills bestowed on the Prophet was his ability to scheme strategic plans for the da`wah (inviting people to Islam). He was entrusted with this mission by Allah, Who says in the Glorious Qur'an,

(Nor does he [Muhammad] speak out of [his own] desire. It is naught save an inspiration that is inspired. The Lord of Mighty Powers has taught him.) (An-Najm 53:3–5)

This skill of the Prophet can be seen in many incidents, such as the Treaty of Al-Hudaibiyah when he managed the situation with Quraish. A second example is his advice to a number of his Companions to leave Makkah and seek asylum in Abyssinia . Here, only the latter incident will be dealt with. A discussion on the Treaty of Al-Hudaibiyah is left to another occasion in the near future, in sha' Allah.

Any one who scans the books of Prophetic seerah will apparently notice that nearly all of these books attribute Muslims' seeking asylum in Abyssinia to the mere avoidance of the oppression of Quraish.

However, to me, this cannot be the sole reason behind this tiresome journey, which lasted for years and years in its second version. I do think that there are other reasons behind that immigration to Abyssinia and that it was not merely to avoid the tyranny and oppression of Quraish. In fact, it was done to fulfill other goals, as well.

Motive for Immigration to Abyssinia

Among the things that made the Prophet advise his companions to immigrate to Abyssinia was the severity of torment they witnessed at the hands of the polytheists of Quraish. Those latter used all sorts of torture known at the time to force Muslims to renounce their true religion.

However, those who immigrated to Abyssinia were not only from among the poor and the weak. The dispatch included, among others, `Uthman ibn `Affan and his wife, Ruqayyah, the Prophet's own daughter.

Also, Ja`far ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet's cousin, was in the dispatch. It is important to know that Abu Talib (Ja`far's father and the Prophet's uncle) used to protect the Prophet from the violence of Quraish. How then could he not protect his own son, Ja`far, from the tyranny of polytheists? Why did Ja`far resort to seeking asylum in a distant place like Abyssinia?

The Muslim dispatch also included `Abdur-Rahman ibn `Awf, Abu Salamah Al-Makhzumi, and Az-Zubayr ibn Al-`Awam, who were all noble and public figures in the Quraishi scene.

Some women from among the noblest households of Quraish were also part of the dispatch. Those women would have never been harmed in any way if they chose to remain in Makkah.

This may suggest that one of the reasons behind this immigration was to shake the Quraishi social context from within. Certainly, the Quraishi people understood this, especially that some of their noblest figures immigrated and deserted their homeland to save their faith, leaving behind the kith and kin.

Indeed, such an immigration shook the Quraishi society very violently, especially that Umm Habibah, the daughter of Quraishi leader Abu Sufyan, was one of the immigrants. For such a noble woman to abandon her household and homeland for her religion, this was indeed remarkable in a tribal society like that of Quraish.

To me, foremost among all reasons is that the Prophet wanted to keep a strategic reserve for Islam in a far and safe place beyond the reach of Quraish's tyranny. He wanted to keep these people intact away from the scourges of war. In other words, he wanted to establish a base outside the area of conflict to preserve the faith and keep it intact in a safe place until everything is decided by Almighty Allah.

If the aim was the mere avoidance of harm, Ja`far ibn Abi Talib and the other 83 male and female Companions would have left Abyssinia and immigrated to Madinah immediately after the Hijrah. A strong Muslim state and capable army were established in Madinah after the Hijrah, and therefore those who had immigrated to Abyssinia would have been safe in Madinah.

However, the Companions stayed in Abyssinia for 14 years. None of them immigrated to Madinah until the war between Quraish and Muslims came to an end. During that period, Muslims were forced to fight Quraish in many decisive battles, such as the battles of Badr, Uhud, and Al-Ahzab. Ja`far and other Companions came back to Madinah only a year before the Battle of Mu'tah.

During that period, Madinah was threatened by a sweeping attack from Quraish for about five years. The last attack against Madinah was the Battle of Al-Ahzab, where more than 10,000 fighters from among the polytheists came to uproot Muslims and their faith. After the defeat of polytheists at the hands of Muslims, the Prophet said,

"Today, we conquer them and they do not conquer us" (Al-Bukhari).

The danger of sweeping Madinah ended with this battle, which was followed by the Treaty of Al-Hudaibiyah in the 6th year of Hijrah. This treaty stressed the end of this danger and underlined Quraish's official recognition of the new Muslim state in Madinah.

When the Prophet became confident that Madinah was no longer fearful of being swept by the forces of disbelief and that it became a safe haven for Muslims, he sent for those who immigrated to Abyssinia, commanding them to return. Islam was no longer in need of that strategic reserve, which would have been indispensible if Madinah were to fall in the hands of the enemy.

Another main reason for immigration to Abyssinia was to spread the word of Islam outside Makkah. This religion is a universal one that should not be confined to a certain place, be it a city, a state, or even a continent.

As for the first journey to Abyssinia, Muslims stayed there only for a month and then came back to Makkah. The aim was to explore the place.

Lessons to Learn

As mentioned earlier, many lessons can be derived from the plan of immigration to Abyssinia schemed by Prophet Muhammad. Although the Prophet lived in Makkah at the time, he was aware of what was happening around him in the Arabian Peninsula and its surroundings. He knew that the Negus of Abyssinia was a just king and that no one would be wronged under his rule.

This should be a trait of all Muslims: to know and understand the context in which they are living and have an idea about the environment surrounding them to be able to know when and how to do something.

Another lesson would be endurance in the cause of Allah. The Prophet and his noble Companions suffered in Makkah and in Madinah and endured many calamities and plights in the cause of Allah. True Muslims should be steadfast in the face of all calamities that might afflict them in the way of da`wah.

True believers should be steadfast in their belief. They should never resort to any sort of compromise or submission to the pressures of the enemy. `Amr ibn Al-`Aas, who was a disbeliever when Muslims immigrated to Abyssinia, maliciously tried to persuade the Negus to abstain from providing Muslims with a safe haven. However, Ja`far and his companions unanimously agreed to say only the truth and nothing but the truth. This made the Negus respect them and their call, and he secretly embraced Islam at last.

The incident of immigration to Abyssinia also shows that the Prophet had great mercy for his Companions when he advised them to migrate from Makkah.

Amazingly, when Ja`far and his companions immigrated to Madinah, the Prophet did not give them a break. The Prophet appointed Ja`far as a second-in-command with the army commander Zayd ibn Harithah in the army heading for Mu'tah.

As already mentioned, Ja`far was the Prophet's cousin; he was loved by the Prophet. He had a very close resemblance to him. He stayed away from the Prophet for 14 years, yet the Prophet appointed him as a second-in-command in an army of 3,000 Muslim fighters who faced 200,000 Roman fighters in the Battle of Mu'tah!

Finally, this immigration shows a new dimension of Prophet Muhammad's noble character: A strategic planner who was of course aided by Almighty Allah Himself.

Almighty Allah provided His weak and oppressed servants with a safe haven and protected them from the harm of Quraish. He made them feel safe and secure about their lives and religion. Further, He enabled them to spread the religion of truth through calling to it with wisdom and good advice. Muslims also won a new land, which was a starting point for their call in the region, as part of the global message of Islam.

Strategic Planning Revisited

In relation to the aforementioned definition of strategic planning, there are two things to be looked into:

First: Strategic planning for an entity covers a period of one or more years — maybe two or three years. Meanwhile, Muslims' immigration to Abyssinia, which was planned by the Prophet, lasted for about 14 years. What a farsighted and futuristic strategic planning!

Second: The focus of strategic planning is usually on the entire entity, not any of its branches or offshoots. This is exactly what was done by the Prophet: His focus was on the entire religion of Islam and the community of all Muslims. He put aside a group of Muslims as a strategic reserve for the Ummah and the religion of Islam. Although Islam is a divine religion, it still needs human effort to be well established in the land. This is one of the characteristics of this religion as may be understood from numerous incidents.

In conclusion, this article was only a glimpse of the great political thinking and farsighted strategic planning practiced by the Prophet in the process of building the Muslim state. In so doing, he studied all possibilities and came to know all the strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities involved in the whole situation. Finally, he could find an appropriate place for the Muslim state, which helped protect the Muslim faith from all harms.

McNamara, Carter. "Strategic Planning (in Nonprofit or For-Profit Organizations)." Free Management Library. Accessed 7 Oct. 2008.

Ya rassoul Allah nadrah - Salah Addin

2008-10-11T05:55:00.000-07:00

	يارسول الله نظرة
	صلوا على الهادي الأمين
	ياحبيبي
	عيني عيني
	سلامي
	شوقي
	رضى المتيم
	هدية العروسين

kon jamilan - yahya hawwa

2008-10-01T14:56:00.001-07:00

Making ‘Eid Special For Everyone

2008-10-01T14:52:00.000-07:00

Our religious teachings inculcate in us a deep sense of caring and compassion for those who are in need, vulnerable and at-risk in our society. However, it seems that our approach to caring for this special population such as the elderly, the orphans, the widows, and the street children and people, seems to be one which is too general, almost without focus. Think about it. How often have you known the names and identities of people for whom you have been asked to make du`aa’ because they were sick or they lost a loved one? We pray to Almighty Allah in a most general, ambiguous sense, “O Allah, grant healing to those who are ill, ease the pain of those who are suffering.” Who are these people? Do they not deserve to be known, identified? Even in dealing with the deceased, we do not take the time to be informed and often we pray the funeral prayer for “someone in the community” who passed away. We might barely get information about the gender of the person since that determines the approximate position of where the Imam will stand when he leads the funeral prayer. It is time we past this sort of faceless interaction with those in need of our care and compassion. This year let us strive to make the day of ‘Eid a true celebration for everyone. The Importance of Caring and Compassion In the Qur’an, Almighty Allah tells the believers in a most direct and unambiguous manner that achieving nearness to Him, seeking His countenance, striving to be worthy of His pleasure, are all goals which can be accomplished by submitting to Him, loving Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), fulfilling our duties to Almighty Allah, to His messenger, to our family and community, and by being caring and compassionate towards the most vulnerable and at-risk in our society. There are countless remindersin the Qur’an and the teachings of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) which enjoin upon us the importance of being consistently and constantly involved in the struggle to strengthen our faith and to engage in righteous and charitable conduct. It is therefore truly an imperative upon all Muslims to strike a balance between thinking about the well being of ourselves and our families and that of people such as the elderly, the orphans, the widows and the people of the street. Knowing Those Closest to Us and In Need Without a doubt, the people closest to us and perhaps in need of our good company, of caring for them, and of providing for them are our parents and other members of our immediate and extended family. If being charitable and thoughtful means we start with our own family members first, there is no problem in that as Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) allowed people to do so. In this excerpt from a much longer hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) allowed a man to give charity to his own family when the man said, “By Allah; there is no family between its (Medina's) two mountains who are poorer than I." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled till his pre-molar teeth became visible, and then said, 'Feed your family with it." (Al-Bukhari) The essence of this hadith is that if in our own family our parents are elderly, or we have children of divorce, or relatives who are orphans, it is acceptable to begin with them and to make plans to help them celebrate ‘Eid with new clothes, a healthy meal, and games and toys for the children. Often we take on the burden of helping others and forget that those in our family deserve more of our attention. Knowing Our Community Long before the day of ‘Eid, we need to have an actual count of who the people are in our community for whom we will try to make ‘Eid a special day. We must reinstitute the practice begun in the administration of `Umar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) of maintaining a census of our community. We should know who is not well, while respecting the privacy of the family and not necessarily inquiring about the details of the illness. We should know who desires to come to the ‘Eid prayer and celebration but will be unable to do so due to problems with transportation. We should know who lives at home but is unable to join the ‘Eid prayer and celebration but could benefit from a brief social visit on the day of ‘Eid. We should know that anyone who is in hospital will be unable to join the ‘Eid prayer and celebration, and will benefit from a brief social visit on the day of ‘Eid. We should especially know about children who are either bedridden at home or in the hospital who will not be able to enjoy spending time with members of the community at the ‘Eid prayer and following celebration. We should know about people who might be at the ‘Eid prayer but who will require a sign language interpreter so that they can make the most of the ‘Eid khutbah. Planning For a Special ‘Eid Celebration While the focus of this article is on what we can do to make ‘Eid special for our family and those who are from among the elderly, the orphans, the widows, and other vulnerable and at-risk members of our community, it is just as important for us to offer financial support to registered organizations who will be able to make ‘Eid special for Muslims in other parts of the world. If giving financial support is not an option for us, then we should at least remember those in need during the last ten nights of Ramadan and especially on the day of ‘Eid. When planning for those in our community, it is most important to have a committee of like-minded people who are able to devote the required time and energy to such an endeavor. The committee should have a clear division of labor so that some members can focus on the collection and distribution of charity, others can focus on the elderly, others on the children, and so on. The infrastructure of the local masjid will most likely be helpful in terms of the collection of the zakah and sadaqah but this committee will be instrumental in helping with the timely and responsive distribution of charity. In addition, there must be emphasis on organizing transportation for all those who are unable to come on their own to the ‘Eid prayer and celebration. Within organizational and human capacity, the idea should be to brainstorm on how best to make the day of ‘Eid memorable for the various community members identified by the census. Sometimes it is better to choose one or two ideas to implement than to try to do too much for too many people and end up not doing anything well. Final Thoughts Each of us can do our share in helping to remember the vulnerable and at-risk members of our community, starting with those closest to us in our family and proceeding outwards into the community. Islam enjoins upon us the goal of striving to strengthen our faith and to engage in righteous and charitable conduct. This Ramadan, we should be doing our best to plan on how we can make ‘Eid a special day of celebration for everyone.

Ramadan Advice: Living in the Present?

2008-09-12T10:40:00.000-07:00

To live in the present is a mercy from Allah. The mercy of living in the present is sometimes lost to those who live between the past and the future , ignoring the present altogether. These are the people who immerse themselves living between regret of the past that they can no longer change and worrying about a future, they are uncertain of, that they cannot control or that they would live to see. How many relationships we know are destroyed because people focus on past mistakes that can no longer be changed? Often times the perpetrator of a mistake drowns themselves in guilt; overwhelmed by a sin from their past. When they can no longer come up for air or find a way out of their misery, shaytan traps them within the walls of depression; causes them to lose their health and sadly, sometimes life itself. It is because they have not only trapped themselves in the prison of guilt, but they believe that they should feel this way because they made a mistake and/or committed a sin. However, this is NOT what Allah SWT wants from us. Guilt can be positive. Positive guilt means that we feel sincere remorse for committing a sin and then we seek Allah's forgiveness for it, fully expecting that Allah will forgive us. We learn specific lessons that led to it and try to implement changes in our life that will help us avoid it in the future. Even better, is when we are able to eventually work to assist others from falling into the same trap or at the very least try to do some good deeds because we know that "good deeds replace bad deeds". Guilt can also be a double-edged sword and can cause us to become trapped by shaytan who will use it to destroy us, our relationships with others and most importantly, our relationship with Allah. We must evaluate our relationship with Allah SWT if, despite knowing He is our Creator, Lord, Master, the One in Whose Hands lies control of all things, the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful, WE continue to punish ourselves...other times, we continue to face people who continue to punish us, those who forget that they too have committed sins, and just as they want Allah's forgiveness, they too should forgive others and leave them to mend their hearts and relationship with Allah. Sometimes in situations where the hurt is too much, perhaps we need to create space and allow the other person the peace to re-develop their relationship with Allah. Today let us remember the beautiful ahadith related by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) "O Son (& daughter) of Adam, as long as you supplicate to Me and have hope in me I will pardon you in spite of what you have done, and I do not care. O Son (& daughter) of Adam, if your sins were so numerous as to reach the lofty regions of the sky, then you asked My forgiveness, I would forgive you, and I do not care. O Son (& daughter) of Adam, if you were to meet Me with enough sins to fill the earth, then met Me, not associating anything with Me (in worship), I shall greet you with its equivalent in forgiveness.'" Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi. And Ahmad and Al-Darimi transmitted it from Abu Dharr Let us remember that God ALONE is our Judge and that He is so merciful- more than a mother to her newborn baby. It is a fact that we will make mistakes- what defines us, is seeking forgiveness, sincerely repenting and learning the lesson that was intended for us to grow in our relationship with Allah. The problems with sins, is not necessarily the sin itself but the fact that committing them creates a barrier between us and Allah. So let us work to eradicate those barriers and to know and understand, when mistakes happen remember to Turn to Allah, Your Lord is there for you even when no one else is, Your Lord, is waiting for your repentance so turn to Him, He loves you and will never abandon you, He is most merciful, so when your head touches the ground, feel encompassed by His Love and Mercy and know that His capacity for mercy and forgiveness is limitless. Today brothers and sisters, let us be merciful to others who have hurt us and let us enjoy the mercy of learning from the past whilst living in the present. Living in the present is where we CAN try our best to make a positive difference to ourselves. Jeewan Chanicka

rachid gholam - nile 2/3

2008-08-24T15:39:00.001-07:00

rachid gholam - nile 3/3

2008-08-24T15:38:00.001-07:00

1- Hicham Karim - Festival holland 2007

2008-08-24T15:33:00.000-07:00

mustapha azzawi

2008-08-24T15:28:00.000-07:00

youchriqo dal3i

2008-08-24T15:26:00.000-07:00

ya rafi3an

2008-08-24T15:23:00.002-07:00

hafl zafaf - bilal kubayssi

2008-08-24T15:23:00.001-07:00

allaho arssal

2008-08-24T15:21:00.000-07:00

lasto wahdi - bilal alkubayssi

2008-08-24T15:20:00.000-07:00

waqafate horoufi

2008-08-16T06:25:00.000-07:00

Nasheed "REHLAT AL-OMR"

2008-08-10T12:48:00.001-07:00

786 feat. Aman - Dua

2008-08-10T12:46:00.000-07:00

nassim

2008-08-10T12:38:00.000-07:00

sallo ya 3achiqin - ietissam

2008-08-10T12:35:00.000-07:00

Sabeel Alallm

2008-08-10T12:14:00.001-07:00

lailaha illa allah

2008-08-10T12:13:00.001-07:00

ana al3abdo - mshari affassi

2008-08-10T12:10:00.001-07:00

abderahmane buhbilla (bulbol al iqbal

2008-08-02T06:15:00.002-07:00

mohamed zaki

2008-08-02T06:15:00.001-07:00

Illa Salati

2008-08-02T06:14:00.002-07:00

Ammar Azaki

2008-08-02T06:14:00.001-07:00

Hallaq and Al-Asali Clip

2008-08-02T06:13:00.003-07:00

Asali and Hallaq sing in mall

2008-08-02T06:13:00.001-07:00

abu rateb and yehya hawwa

2008-08-02T06:12:00.005-07:00

abu rateb and yehya hawwa

2008-08-02T06:12:00.003-07:00

Abu Rateb 2

2008-08-02T06:12:00.001-07:00

Abu Joud 2

2008-08-02T06:11:00.002-07:00

nasheed Abul Joud

2008-08-02T06:11:00.001-07:00

Abu Ratib Naseem Video

2008-08-02T06:10:00.003-07:00

Abu Ratib Naseem Video

2008-08-02T06:10:00.001-07:00

grop ibn aarabi

2008-07-22T05:37:00.000-07:00

anachid-houda-maroc

2008-07-22T05:35:00.000-07:00

Abdel Salam El Hassani islam anachid

2008-07-22T05:33:00.000-07:00

ibrahi khalilo ALLAH

2008-07-14T06:15:00.000-07:00

ha qad rahalti - moussa mustapha

2008-07-14T06:09:00.000-07:00

ya jazair - omar saaidi

2008-07-14T06:05:00.000-07:00