California police search for answers in beating death of Iraqi woman -...
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is now involved in the case of an Iraqi woman beaten to death in her Southern California home.
The El...
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is now involved in the case of an Iraqi woman beaten to death in her Southern California home.
The El Cajon Police Department says the FBI is providing assistance as it investigates the death of Shaima Alawadi and whether her death was a hate crime.
The mother of five had suffered multiple blows to the head with a large object. Police say her 17-year-old daughter discovered her in the kitchen on Wednesday, along with a threatening note.
Hanif Mohebi is executive director of the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Mohebi says the family had received another threatening note but had dismissed it as a prank.
Alawadi\'s daughter has said that the note called her mother a terrorist and demanded she go back to her country.
Mohebi says the family remains in a state of shock.
Mohebi says for right now, family members are choosing not to speak to the media.
A family friend says he believes the reports that Alawaidi’s death is a hate crime.
El Cajon is located about 2 hours south of Los Angeles.
The city has America’s second largest community of Iraqis, behind Michigan.
But police say the beating is an isolated incident and the community shouldn’t feel targeted.
Muslim leaders say the beating follows several months of increased reports of hate crimes in the San Diego area.
They say the community needs to be vigilant in reporting any kind of threat or violence against them.
Police say they have no suspects or persons of interest in this case.
They have not confirmed whether any fingerprints were found on the note left at the crime scene.
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Disgusting Sanctions to back fire on western govts - Mohammad Marandi -...
The European Union has expanded its sanctions against Iran, freezing assets and adding more officials to a visa blacklist. It cites 'serious human...
The European Union has expanded its sanctions against Iran, freezing assets and adding more officials to a visa blacklist. It cites 'serious human rights violations' for the measures - which follow other similar penalties over the Islamic republic's nuclear programme. The U.S. has just drawn up a list of countries which are to be cut-off from the American financial system - if they don't reduce Iranian oil imports within 6 months. Meanwhile, Israel says its threat of a military strike on Iran is stopping it from building a suspected nuclear bomb. Tehran maintains its atomic programme is for peaceful energy purposes only. But the U.S. is against an imminent attack on the Islamic state - believing it would drag the whole region into war. For more RT talks to Middle East expert, Professor Seyed Mohammad Marandi, from Beirut.
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7m:7s
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[03 May 2012] Bahrain Revolution - News Analysis - Presstv - English
[03 May 2012] Bahrain Revolution - News Analysis - Presstv - English
Over 14 months and anti-regime protests are still alive in Bahrain. On...
[03 May 2012] Bahrain Revolution - News Analysis - Presstv - English
Over 14 months and anti-regime protests are still alive in Bahrain. On Tuesday, May Day demonstrators said the regime has deprived them of their jobs to punish them for taking part in rallies. Concerns are growing over the state of detained activists and a continued crackdown directly supported by Saudi Arabia, but what has enabled the al-Khalifa regime to calmly claim all is well in this tiny Persian Gulf kingdom?
24m:36s
7033
US conspires to destabilize Middle East in favor of israel - English
A leading religious figure has been assassinated by gunmen in the Syrian capital Damascus. Imam of Ruqayya mosque, Sheikh Abbas al-Laham, was...
A leading religious figure has been assassinated by gunmen in the Syrian capital Damascus. Imam of Ruqayya mosque, Sheikh Abbas al-Laham, was assassinated on Sunday. Several other religious figures have been killed in the country in recent months.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Dr. Syed Ali Wasif, president of Society for International Reforms and Research, to further discuss the issue.
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[15 May 2012] UK Soldiers Abused on the Streets of Britain - English
After months of research and questioning thousands of troops, Britain's biggest ever independent survey on the armed forces has been released. And...
After months of research and questioning thousands of troops, Britain's biggest ever independent survey on the armed forces has been released. And although overall support for the troops are high, there are some very worrying statistics about how the British public views the army. Nargess Moballeghi reports from London.
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6828
[26 May 2012] West policies doomed to fail in Syria - English
NATO-supported politicians in Syria are isolated since the national election. Meanwhile the UN has about-turned to announce the presence of...
NATO-supported politicians in Syria are isolated since the national election. Meanwhile the UN has about-turned to announce the presence of al-Qaeda inside Syria.
Press TV has interviewed Webster Griffin Tarpley, author and historian from Washington about the admission by UN and US heads that al-Qaeda is attempting to destabilize Syria from inside the country after so long refusing to admit its presence and surmises on why the announcement would be made at this point in time. What follows is an approximate transcript of the interview.
Press TV: How surprising is it to you to see UN Chief Ban Ki Moon expressing concern about the situation in Syria? And what does Ban Ki Moon's breaking of his own silence mean to the UN Security Council?
Tarpley: In the case of Ban Ki Moon we must always suspect ulterior motives i.e. an evil intent. And in these circles that Ban Ki Moon speaks for, that is to say NATO and imperialism in general, the new line is no longer to deny the presence of al-Qaeda in Syria, but to begin to cite al-Qaeda as yet another reason why an invasion and bombing will be necessary that is to say, if this terrible situation goes on any longer that al-Qaeda might get the upper hand.
We heard Hilry Clinton in a rare moment of candor in the past week also conceding the presence of al-Qaeda in Syria.
However, we need to point out that the reason al-Qaeda is there is because these NATO heads of government, heads of state and other officials have brought al-Qaeda into the picture.
Al-Qaeda is what it always was, the CIA Arab Legion and in particular some of the most experienced al-Qaeda operatives were brought from Tripoli in Libya all the way to southern Turkey to Iskandaron and other places in kind of an airlift by NATO some months ago.
So much so that when Ambassador Jafari of Syria showed his CD at the UN - he said that the Syrian government has these confessions of foreign fighters including Turkish and Libyan foreign fighters and I think we can assume that's the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which is therefore al-Qaeda.
So, Ban Ki Moon is just as morally bankrupt as he always was, it's just that he has had to change his mode of attack.
The entire situation of this resistance is of course desperate. As a result of the Syrian election a couple of weeks ago when more than half of the possible voters voted under the worst possible conditions, the Syrian National Council is breaking apart and the leader (Berhan) Ghalioun has now resigned, he's out.
So, there is no coherent opposition so now they're less worried about trying to pretend that there's a political opposition and more with let's get on with the invasion.
Press TV: Just imagine if those armed gangs who claim to be the saviors of the Syrian people, yet kill civilians and use the human population as a human shield according to reports - just imagine if they came to power, I mean, what kind of a government would we see? Isn't it paradoxical?
Tarpley: This is of course the essence of the imperialist policy, it is partition, mini-states, micro-states and failed states. It's more or less what you see in Libya.
We notice that the Western media have been much less interested in showing us the wonders of democracy, the singing tomorrows of the National Transitional Council in Libya because that country of course is tragically breaking up and you've got terrorist gangs and the beginnings of a separation of different parts of the country.
This is what they would like to bring to Syria using NATO bombing, invasion… and the shock troops i.e. the people NATO has on the ground at the moment are these al-Qaeda types supplemented of course by mercenaries from France, turkey and other countries.
The specific emphasis we have right now though is to try to cut a corridor - and it won't be a humanitarian corridor, it will be a terror corridor - starting with Tripoli to northern Lebanon and this Kleyate airport, which NATO would like to seize.
That's why we've had an increase in terrorist assassinations in that area; we've had the kidnapping of the pilgrims… This is a thrust to try to get a corridor from the Mediterranean into Syria through Tripoli and the Kleyate airport.
Press TV: What lies ahead for Syria in the long term especially in terms of the Assad government? How long can the Assad government resist and maintain its power?
Tarpley: I think the Assad government politically is better off in the last two weeks than it was before because they've successfully carried out a national election, a multi-party election; the Constitution has been changed so that the Baath Party no longer has a monopoly of power.
I think anybody who is sincerely interested in democratic reforms has participated in that election; some of them did get elected. The people who have been boycotting it have isolated themselves - they're now exposed as either al-Qaeda or fellow travelers with al-Qaeda.
So it seems to me the NATO political situation has gotten desperate and the only way out of that is to try to escalate the military side. But there once again they risk the collision with Russia, China and others who are not going to allow them to do that at least under the UN cover.
One of the places to look for a possible resolution for this is the Bilderberg-er meeting here in Washington SC at the end of next week, would typically be a place where a solution to that dilemma might emerge and therefore bears very, very careful watching.
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[26 May 2012] Many young Egyptians reluctant to vote - English
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood says its candidate Mohamed Morsi will face former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq in the country’s presidential run-off...
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood says its candidate Mohamed Morsi will face former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq in the country’s presidential run-off election.
Morsi is in the lead with 25.3 percent of the vote, followed by Shafiq with 24.9 percent. Official results from the electoral body are expected to be announced on Tuesday.
The two candidates will compete in a run-off election on June 16 and 17. Electoral commission officials said that turnout was around 43 percent over the two days of voting on Wednesday and Thursday.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Yahia Ghanem, editor at the al-Ahram newspaper, to hear his opinion on this issue. The following is a rough transcription of the interview.
Press TV: Trying to understand these results specially Shafiq he did not do that well in his campaigning. How did he come up to this second place, finish at this point which is not really finished, it is unofficial results, what is your reaction to that?
Ghanem: Well if you talk, if you ask about the reactions I believe that partly it was a shock for a lot of number of the Egyptians whereas it was a pleasant surprise of course for some others.
So I believe that as much as Egypt and the Egyptians have been showing strong signs of being united, a united house in their march towards democracy, when it comes to the results of the first round of the elections they started showing strong signs of a house divided in terms of this splinter between Shafiq which is considered to be a remnant of the former regime and Dr. [Morsi], the candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Press TV: In terms of who came out to vote we are looking at two large majorities, 60 percent saying to be from the urban areas which are farmers and then of course we are looking at the percentage of the youth in the country which is said to be 50 percent below the age of 30. But it does not seem like these results are indicating that which some are saying the silent majority came out. Do you see it that way?
Ghanem: Say it again please.
Press TV: The silent majority, do you think they were the ones that came out, tilting some of the voting in terms of the results we are seeing right now?
Ghanem: I am not quite sure if I understood your question...
Press TV: The silent majority of Egyptians is what I am getting at, did they come out, the ones who did not come out to vote for the parliamentary elections maybe came out this time to vote?
Ghanem: Well, I believe that there was a large percentage of absence from the voters because everybody expected actually a higher percentage, everybody expected that the Egyptians would break the record that they scored during the first stage of the last parliamentary elections but unfortunately it did not happen.
And I believe that there are reasons behind such absence and such reluctance of that large number of voters to practice and to exercise the right in voting the first civilian elected president but I believe that a large number of the youth who actually participated and spot the revolution, also they were reluctant to participate in these elections and I observed that while I was touring the polling stations, I believe that there were reasons actually behind such reluctance, such as the way the military council ran the whole show during the last 16 months and specially running that presidential election show.
Press TV: And of course one of the biggest troubles and challenges Yahia Ghanem is the constitution and the presidential powers. When is that going to be resolved?
Ghanem: I believe we still have to go for quite a while after the elections to sort out this issue of the right in constitution and specially that issue of writing the constitution.
But personally speaking I believe that this issue have been made an issue by certain parties with interest to complicate things in Egypt because writing constitution is not that problem actually and they complicated the whole thing by inciting all different kinds of society, all the [structure] in society to claim the right of being represented in this committee and to share or to take part in writing the constitution. No constitutions in the world are being written that way.
It is up to the specialists, the lawmakers or the professors of constitutional law to write the constitution as in many or in all the countries in the world and then for the establishing committee to discuss and to review that draft constitution but of course it does not make any sense for all representatives of all the sectors of the society and the [structure] of the society to take part in writing the constitution.
It is funny and it is not true of course.
13m:33s
10185
[27 May 2012] Egypt holds first free presidential election - The Real...
[27 May 2012] Egypt holds first free presidential election - The Real Deal - English
Egyptians went to the polls in their first ever free...
[27 May 2012] Egypt holds first free presidential election - The Real Deal - English
Egyptians went to the polls in their first ever free presidential election during this week. Who becomes president and indeed what the president's powers would be are still unknown. A run-off vote is scheduled for 16th and 17th of June in case no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the votes. France and Germany are at loggerheads over what to do about Greek-Euro economic issue as the new French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel took part at the European Union Summit. After months hype about the float of Facebook which has billions of users worldwide, the appetite for its shares collapsed after the initial launch on Friday. Shares opened at 38 dollars each but they are now being traded at 31 dollars valuing the company 4 billion dollars less than it was just a week ago.
23m:57s
6405
[13 June 2012] Russia will confront any US - led attack on Syria Webster...
[13 June 2012] Russia will confront any US - led attack on Syria Webster Tarpley - English
Israel is apparently laying the groundwork for a...
[13 June 2012] Russia will confront any US - led attack on Syria Webster Tarpley - English
Israel is apparently laying the groundwork for a possible military attack on Syria by alleging that Damascus could be using chemical weapons against the Syrian people. Tel Aviv has recently expressed concern about what it calls the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Israel says the weapons could fall into the wrong hands and that they may even be used by Syria to carry out an attack against Israeli forces. The pretext is being used to justify a possible military assault on Syria even if it means triggering a broader conflict across the region. Ayoob Kara, a senior member of the Israeli Likud Party led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, claimed in an interview with Israel Radio on June 9 that the Syrian government has used "chemical weapons against men, women, and children" during the past months of unrest in the country.
Press TV talks with Dr. Webster Griffin Tarpley, author and historian in Washington, to further shed light on the issue.
5m:49s
10679
[15 June 2012] Egypt rev. continues through elections - English
[15 June 2012] Egypt rev. continues through elections - English
Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court has ordered the country's parliament...
[15 June 2012] Egypt rev. continues through elections - English
Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court has ordered the country's parliament dissolved saying the legislative body's election about 6 months ago was unconstitutional. The Supreme Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday that one-third of the parliamentary seats were "illegitimate." The court also ruled that the parliament-approved political isolation law is unconstitutional, allowing ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak's last premier Ahmad Shafiq to stay in the presidential runoff this weekend.
The Thursday rulings come just two days ahead of a tense presidential runoff between Shafiq and Muslim Brotherhood's candidate Mohammed Morsi. Following the decision, the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) declared full legislative authority and said that, by Friday, it will announce a 100-person assembly that will write the country's new constitution.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Waleed el-Haddad, spokesman of Freedom and Justice Party, to hear his opinion on this issue. The video also offers the opinion of an additional guest: Ezzat Abu-Moustafa, chair of the Egyptian, Arab and British Cultural Forum.
5m:2s
8651
[27 June 2012] Shrine incipient provokes protests in Kashmir - English
[27 June 2012] Shrine incipient provokes protests in Kashmir - English
After months of relative calm Kashmir valley once again is in the grip of...
[27 June 2012] Shrine incipient provokes protests in Kashmir - English
After months of relative calm Kashmir valley once again is in the grip of tension during its peak tourism season.
The incidental fire that destroyed Kashmir's famous 200-year old Sufi shrine on Monday has angered people. They blame government for slow services and poor facilities. Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani shrine which is located in the heart of Srinagar city is considered as an important center for Islamic and spiritual teachings in Kashmir.
2m:24s
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[6 July 2012] CIA directing arms flow to gangs in Syria - English
Switzerland has decided to suspend arms shipments to the United Arab Emirates following a report that Swiss-made hand grenades are being used by...
Switzerland has decided to suspend arms shipments to the United Arab Emirates following a report that Swiss-made hand grenades are being used by armed gangs in Syria.
The measure was taken on Wednesday after the Sonntagszeitung newspaper published a photograph taken of one such device in possession of anti-Damascus forces in the town of Marea, north of Aleppo, at the end of June, AFP reported.
Preliminary inquiries into the photo showed the grenade in question was made by the Bern-based arms manufacturer RUAG, and was part of a shipment made by the company to the UAE in 2003.
The Federal Department of Economic Affairs (FDEA) says 225,162 hand grenades were exported to the UAE, who signed an agreement not to re-export the munitions.
"As far as the FDEA is aware, the hand grenade ... originates from a RUAG shipment to the United Arab Emirates in 2003. At present there is no evidence that Swiss hand grenades have found their way to Syria; inquiries are ongoing, however," the government statement said.
The FDEA statement also said arms shipments from Switzerland to Syria stopped in April 1998, and raised doubt whether the photograph was taken in Syria after all.
Antje Baertschi, a spokeswoman for the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said as a “provisional" measure, Switzerland immediately moved to "freeze all arms export permits to the UAE."
Press TV has conducted an interview with Dr. Webster Griffin Tarpley, author & historian, to hear his opinion on this issue. The following is a transcription of the interview.
Press TV: The Swiss claim that they are surprised about this entire issue because they have a “neutral stance” when it comes to issues like Syria. Are they as innocent as they claim considering they have been providing weapons in the first place to repressive states such as the UAE?
Tarpley: I think everybody in the world with an effective intelligence service and that would emphatically include Switzerland through their banking system; they are as well informed really as anybody in the world, they know very well that the [Persian] Gulf states, these reactionary feudal absolute monarchies like the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait but above all Saudi Arabia, all of them have been massively shipping weapons to the death squads that are working for NATO in Syria and this has been known now for months.
There is really no news except that Switzerland, to cover themselves, to cover themselves maybe on liability suits, have decided to cut off the air shipments to these feudal monarchies in the [Persian] Gulf.
But other than that, we have known, even the New York Times always the last to know, has confirmed that there were CIA officers who are directing traffic in southern Turkey sending these weapons to the groups that they want to receive them. I think that we could see a larger context; tomorrow there would be another one of these Orwellian ‘Friends of Syria’ conferences in Turkey, I believe, tomorrow, or is it Paris?
Anyway, the Russians and the Chinese have said that they will not go. I think Hilary Clinton, however, will be there. I believe it is in Paris. So that entire exercise will continue.
One of the things that NATO is doing is simply lying. Whenever they have a diplomatic meeting with Russia, in particular, then they come out and lie about it and the Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov was asked today, are you going to call Assad and offer him asylum in Russia? And Lavrov said that is a bad joke; why don’t you ask the same question to the German Foreign Minister [Guido] Westerwelle we were standing with? Why don’t you see if Assad is going to go to Germany?
It is all really absurd. The big development of today though that I would urgently point to is NATO is now rolling up its heavy artillery and that means WikiLeaks and Julian Assange.
Sophisticated knowledgeable observers all over the world have long known since the very beginning in 2010 that WikiLeaks is a NATO-CIA conduit for various kinds of fake or real documents that are released with political aims in mind and Assange in that sense is a tool of NATO.
We are now told that there are 2.4 million cables; 400 thousand in Arabic, 70 thousand in Russia that are all embarrassing to Syria, embarrassing to the Syrian government but also embarrassing to companies that are still selling various things to Syria.
The example given is Finmeccanica, an Italian firm that has been selling radios to Assad. Also notable is that Assange and WikiLeaks have got a consortium of international press organs; they have got the Associate Press of the United States, the biggest indeed.
3m:49s
9569
[10 July 2012] Saudi Arabia can stop ongoing revolution - English
[10 July 2012] Saudi Arabia can stop ongoing revolution - English
Security forces in Saudi Arabia have killed three demonstrators in the country's...
[10 July 2012] Saudi Arabia can stop ongoing revolution - English
Security forces in Saudi Arabia have killed three demonstrators in the country's Eastern Province, which has been a major scene of anti-regime protests over the past months.
The Riyadh regime forces opened fire on a demonstration in the Qatif region of the province on Sunday.
Two of the victims were identified as Akbar Hassan Shakhouri and Mohammedredha Felfel, who were among the protesters demonstrating against the detention of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nemr al-Nemr, who was attacked in his car upon arrest earlier in the day.
Several other protesters were also injured in the deadly incident.
Since February 2011, protesters have held demonstrations on an almost regular basis in Saudi Arabia, mainly in Qatif and the town of Awamiyah in the Eastern Province, calling for the release of all political prisoners, freedom of expression and assembly, and an end to widespread discrimination.
7m:54s
7881
[13 July 2012] Yemeni protesters call for ouster of corrupted remnants -...
[13 July 2012] Yemeni protesters call for ouster of corrupted remnants - English
Yemeni protesters took to the main streets of the capital Sanaa...
[13 July 2012] Yemeni protesters call for ouster of corrupted remnants - English
Yemeni protesters took to the main streets of the capital Sanaa demanding the ouster of corrupted government officials who are still in power after months of anti-regime demonstrations. They called for an end to the deeply rooted government corruption.The protesters also called on President Mansour Hadi to take decisive measures to strip Saleh-era and corrupt officials of their positions in the new government. The Friday protest came a day after the UN Envoy to Yemen Jamal Ben Omar held a press conference in the capital Sana'a in which he discussed the mechanism of the power transition which will take place in the near future
2m:20s
7061
[13 July 2012] Gangs kill Syrians to show deterioration - English
[13 July 2012] Gangs kill Syrians to show deterioration - English
Syria has announced that terrorist groups were behind the killing and wounding...
[13 July 2012] Gangs kill Syrians to show deterioration - English
Syria has announced that terrorist groups were behind the killing and wounding of tens of people in the village of al-Treimseh in the east of the country.Eye witnesses who appeared on Syrian TV said terrorists attacked, destroyed and burned scores of the houses in al-Treimseh, on the outskirts of the city of Hama, on Thursday, killing dozens of civilians, Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
Damascus said the Western and some Arab media are working with the armed terrorist gangs to sway public opinion against Syria and its people by accusing the government of the killings on the eve of a UN Security Council meeting. Syria has been gripped by more than 16 months of unrest.
5m:49s
6269
[17 July 2012] Paying Taliban to lay down arms is not effective - English
[17 July 2012] Paying Taliban to lay down arms is not effective - English
US-led NATO says the strategy of buying the loyalty of Taliban members...
[17 July 2012] Paying Taliban to lay down arms is not effective - English
US-led NATO says the strategy of buying the loyalty of Taliban members in Afghanistan has proved to be a failure as only around 5,000 militants have responded to the strategy by giving up their weapons.
The US-led Western military alliance said that the plan has had very little effect across Afghanistan so far.
The program, which started in October 2010, offers a stipend of USD 360 over three months to each Taliban militant who lays down arms and joins the program.
The US-led invasion of Afghanistan was launched in 2001. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues to rise across Afghanistan despite the presence of tens of thousands of US-led troops there.
The US-led war in Afghanistan, with civilian and military casualties at record high, has become one of the longest wars in US history.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Carl Osgood, Executive Intelligence Review, from Washington, to further discuss the issue.
4m:48s
7510
[23 July 2012] Lebanon army enhances deployment in Syrian border - English
[23 July 2012] Lebanon army enhances deployment in Syrian border - English
The northern Lebanese border with Syria has become a focal point ever...
[23 July 2012] Lebanon army enhances deployment in Syrian border - English
The northern Lebanese border with Syria has become a focal point ever since the Syrian unrest erupted around 17 months ago.
The Lebanese army has enhanced its deployment in this area upon a decision by the Lebanese cabinet. The step came after armed groups launched attacks on the Syrian army from Lebanese territory, prompting the Syrian army to respond and thus resulting in Lebanese civilian casualties.
Sources from the Lebanese army told press TV that a number of anti Syrian armed elements wounded in clashes were being treated in hospitals in Northern and also Eastern Lebanon.
2m:46s
7463
[24 July 2012] Abdul Jabbar Sloot: My journey to Islam - English
[24 July 2012] Abdul Jabbar Sloot: My journey to Islam - English
In this edition of the show we talk to Abdul Jabbar Sloot about his journey to...
[24 July 2012] Abdul Jabbar Sloot: My journey to Islam - English
In this edition of the show we talk to Abdul Jabbar Sloot about his journey to Islam.
He talks about his challenges and changes as a Muslim convert in Britain before and after embracing the world's fastest-growing religion.
Before converting to Islam, 42-year old Abdul was constantly seeking for a way to reach the divine. He even took part in official drug testing as a way to reach what he thought was a more spiritual state of life. However, he soon realized that this was not the right path for him.
Having grown up in a tiny English countryside village close to Cambridge, Abdul went to church every Sunday as a child and took part in all the activities held by the local Christian community. But as he grew up, he was not satisfied.
After getting married he had several hallucinations that lead him to speak with a college tutor who introduced him to a Sheikh in Tottenham. His first conversation with the Sheikh inspired him so much that he took his shahada the very next day.
A few months later his wife, too converted to Islam, after having a series of conversations with the same sheikh. The sheikh played such an important role in their decision-making process, and they feel an enormous gratitude to him for helping them on the right path towards Islam.
They now have 5 children whom they have brought up as Muslim and lead a simple and peaceful life in the English countryside. Both Abdul and his wife take great pleasure in educating their children at home, away from "mainstream" ideas and behaviors.
24m:39s
9451
[03 Aug 2012] How can Muslims in West help Islamic Awakening - English
[03 Aug 2012] How can Muslims in West help Islamic Awakening - English
After too much expectation and uncertainty, finally the Muslim Brotherhood...
[03 Aug 2012] How can Muslims in West help Islamic Awakening - English
After too much expectation and uncertainty, finally the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi won the election with 51.7 percent of the votes against Ahmed Shafiq. This came after a close competition in the second round, while some rumours were suggesting that the old regimes remnant Ahmed Shafiq might win. Thousands of Muslim Brotherhood supporters filled the streets and squares in Cairo and other cities to celebrate this victory, a turning point in Egypt's history to move from dictatorship to.
While Morsi succeeds Hosni Mubarak, who was overthrown 16 months ago after a popular uprising, the military council has this month curbed the powers of the presidency. This means that the head of state will have to work closely with the army on a planned democratic constitution. This week's Islam and Life asks: Egypt changes: How can Muslims in the west help the Islamic Awakening?
22m:58s
8837
[08 Aug 2012] Pakistan Prime Minister ordered to corruption hearing -...
[08 Aug 2012] Pakistan Prime Minister ordered to corruption hearing - English
he fate of two months long tenure of Pakistan's new Prime Minister...
[08 Aug 2012] Pakistan Prime Minister ordered to corruption hearing - English
he fate of two months long tenure of Pakistan's new Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf hangs in balance after the Supreme Court summoned him to appear himself in the court on August 27.
The apex court has given him two options --- either face contempt of court proceeding or comply with the court order to reopen money laundering cases of millions of dollars against President Asif Zardari.
Press TV's Javed Rana reports from Islamabad.
2m:43s
8608
Squirrels who Fast too - Animal Instincts - English
Visit our website for more episodes! http://ramadhan4u.com to make your ramadhan a productive Ramadhan.
SUBHANALLAH.. Animals fast too!!...
Visit our website for more episodes! http://ramadhan4u.com to make your ramadhan a productive Ramadhan.
SUBHANALLAH.. Animals fast too!!
Check out our new series..
Animal Instincts
Squirrels Fast:
Squirrels are vegetarian animals that fast for days at a time in winter. They live in places with cold winters and are very active in the autumn. They gather nuts, pinecones, and seeds and hide them in various places to eat during the winter.
While tree squirrels do not hibernate, ground squirrels do. Their length of hibernation depends on where they live.
In some areas they may remain dormant as long as eight months of the year. During hibernation, they are in a state of near suspended animation.
Their heart rate slows to only a fraction of its normal rate, and they might breathe only once every couple of minutes.
However, they wake up for a short period every four or five days to eat from their stored food. When the warm weather begins in spring, the squirrels become fully awake and active. They go after seeking fresh food.
Eltemas Dua :) R4U Team
For more information visit www.ramadhan4u.com
1m:40s
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Sayyed Khamenei: Speech at the International Conference of Islamic...
Supreme Leader\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Speech to Participants of International Conference on Islamic Awakening
11/12/2012
The following is the full...
Supreme Leader\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Speech to Participants of International Conference on Islamic Awakening
11/12/2012
The following is the full text of the speech delivered on December 11, 2012 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution at the International Conference of Muslim University Professors and Islamic Awakening.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
First of all, I welcome you honorable guests who have come here from different countries and I also welcome the dear and honorable professors from our own universities.
Since almost one and a half years ago until today, many meetings and conferences on Islamic Awakening have been held in Tehran, but I think that the International Conference of Muslim University Professors and Islamic Awakening has a special significance. This significance is because of the role of outstanding personalities and intellectuals in promoting new ideas in every society. They are the people who can lead a nation to salvation or to - God forbid - destruction. Unfortunately, the latter happened in certain countries, including our own country, over the last 70 or 80 years.
There is a narration from the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.), Muhammad ibn Abdullah, which says, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"The masses do not follow the right path unless outstanding personalities guide them towards it.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" When he was asked who these outstanding personalities are, he answered, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Religious scholars.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" Religious scholars were the first people whom he referred to as outstanding personalities and then he mentioned other groups of people. Therefore, university professors, luminaries and outstanding personalities can be the leaders of the people in every country, provided that they show purity and courage. They should not be afraid of the enemies. If they show fear, greed, negligence and laziness, they will fail to achieve the desired result. If they do not show fear, greed and negligence- if they show courage, then their efforts will achieve the desired result.
During the early days of the Revolution, about thirty one years or thirty two years ago, I and two other people went from Tehran to Qom to meet Imam Khomeini (r.a.). At that time, he was still in Qom. We - who were members of the Revolutionary Council at that time - went there to ask for his opinion about a very important issue. When we explained to him what the issue was, Imam (r.a.) looked at us and asked, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Are you afraid of America?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" We said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"No\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". Then he told us to implement our decision. Then we implemented our decision and we succeeded. If you show fear, greed and negligence and if you let deviant orientations play a role [in your decision-making], you will face serious problems.
Today the entire world is faced with a great event. This great event is Islamic Awakening. This is a fact. Muslim nations and the Islamic Ummah have awakened. Today achieving domination over Muslim nations is not as easy as it used to be during the time after World War I and during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Today, if global arrogance wants to dominate Muslim peoples, they will face serious difficulties. Islamic Awakening has penetrated the Islamic Ummah which has resulted in a number of revolutions and the fall of corrupt and dependent regimes in certain countries. But this is only part of Islamic Awakening, not all of it. Islamic Awakening is a deep and widespread movement.
Of course, the enemies are afraid of the phrase \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Islamic Awakening.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" They are trying not to let the phrase \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Islamic Awakening\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" be used to refer to the current great movement in the region. Why are they doing this? It is because they tremble with fear when they see genuine Islam. They do not fear the kind of Islam which is based on money, corruption, aristocracy and the kind of Islam which is not supported by the majority of people. But they are terrified when they see the kind of Islam which is supported by the majority of people and which is based on action, reliance on God and divine promises. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"And surely Allah will help him who helps His cause\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 22: 40]. Whenever this kind of Islam emerges, whenever there are signs that this kind of Islam is approaching them, they tremble with fear. They are filled with fear \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"as if they were frightened donkeys, fleeing from a lion\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 74: 50-51]. Therefore, they do not want the phrase \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Islamic Awakening\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" to be used. But we believe that the current great movement is a true example of Islamic Awakening and it has penetrated the world of Islam. This movement will continue in the future and it will not easily deviate from its path.
We should identify the problems of these regional movements. This is the first point that I want to discuss with you. You should identify the problems of these movements and revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and similar countries. What are the dangers? What are the problems? Why do we say that these movements are Islamic in essence? Take a look at the people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s slogans. Take a look at the role of Muslim believers in overthrowing corrupt regimes. If Muslim believers and Muslim groups who firmly believe in Islam and who are greatly respected by the people had not participated in these movements, these large public demonstrations would not have been held. The pressures that the people exerted, with their presence, on oppressive regimes like those of Hosni Mubarak and Ben Ali, completely destroyed their shaky foundations. They were Muslim peoples with Islamic slogans. The crucial role of Islamist parties in overthrowing these regimes is a clear proof that this movement is an Islamic movement. And whenever there was an election in these countries, the people voted for Islamist parties. They supported Islamic parties and they preferred them to other parties. Today, if a free election is held almost everywhere in the world of Islam - there may be a few exceptions - and if Islamist leaders and politicians participate in this election, the people will vote for Islamist politicians. This is the same everywhere in the world of Islam. Therefore, this movement is undoubtedly an Islamic movement.
Well, I said that we should identify the problems in these movements. Besides identifying the problems, we should delineate the goals of these revolutions, otherwise there will be confusion. We should delineate these goals. One of the most important goals of Islamic Awakening is getting rid of global arrogance. We should announce this openly because it is wrong to think that global arrogance - headed by America - may get along with Islamic movements. Wherever Islam and supporters of Islam prevail, America does its best to destroy them while putting on a friendly smile. Regional revolutions have no other choice than distancing themselves from global arrogance. We do not say that they should go to war with America, but we say that they should determine what the position of America and global arrogance is on the recent events in the region. They should do this correctly because if they do not gain a proper understanding of their position, they will be deceived.
Today, global arrogance is ruling over the world by using money, weapons and science. But it lacks new ideas and a road map. Today global arrogance has this big problem. It does not have any new ideas to help the people and intellectuals. But you do. You have Islam. When we have new ideas and a road map, we can delineate our goals and we can stand up against global arrogance. In this way, their weapons, their science and their money will not be effective as they were in the past. Of course, they will not be entirely ineffective, but we should think of ways to counter them - if there is time, I will explain more. Thus, in the first place, we should have new ideas, a road map and an ideology. We should know what we want to do.
We should delineate the goals of Islamic Awakening. One of the important goals of Islamic Awakening, which regional developments should pay attention to, is to preserve the pivotal role of Islam. Islam should be the pivot. Islamic principles and sharia should be the pivot of things. There is an all-out effort to claim that sharia is not compatible with progress, change and civilization. This is what the enemy says. No, it is perfectly compatible. Of course, there are many people in the world of Islam who do not have enough knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence and who have supported the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s claim with their dogmatic and old-fashioned ideas. These people are Muslims, but they are at the service of the enemy. There are such people in Islamic countries which are located near us. They call themselves Muslims, but they do not have any new ideas about and any new outlook on Islamic teachings. Islam is for all eras and centuries. Islam answers all the needs of human beings. We should only develop the necessary expertise in order to find Islam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s answers to all the questions of human beings. Some people do not have this expertise and they only know how to excommunicate and drive certain people out of religion. And they call themselves Muslims. Sometimes we discover that these people cooperate with the enemy. We should make Islam and sharia the pivot of our activities. This is one of the goals of Islamic Awakening.
Another goal of Islamic Awakening is building a governing system. If a governing system is not built in countries which have carried out a revolution, they will face dangers. In North African countries, similar revolutions were carried out about 60 or 70 years ago. It was in mid-twentieth century that a revolution was carried out in Tunisia and certain people came to power. Similarly, a revolution and a coup d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'état were carried out in Egypt and certain people came to power. The same thing happened in some other countries. But they failed to build a governing system. This resulted in not only the destruction of these revolutions but also in the complete political transformation of the individuals who had come to power as revolutionaries. There was a complete change in their political behavior and they turned their backs on their values. This happened in Tunisia, Egypt and Sudan during that time. It was around 1343, 1344 or 1345 that I and a couple of my friends were listening to Sawt al-Arab radio station in Mashhad - Sawt al-Arab used to be broadcast from Cairo in Egypt. It was broadcasting the interviews of Gamal Abdel Nasser, Muammar Gaddafi and Jaafar Nimeiry who had gathered in one place. We were being suppressed by the dictatorial regime of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in Mashhad, but these fiery and impassioned speeches made us very enthusiastic and brought us great joy. Well, Abdel Nasser died and you saw what his successors did. You also saw what happened to Gaddafi and Nimeiry. Those revolutions underwent drastic changes because they had no plans and they did not build a governing system. There should be a governing system in countries which have carried out a revolution. They should build a solid foundation. This is one of the important issues regarding Islamic Awakening.
Another important issue is strengthening popular support. Islamic governments should not separate themselves from the people. The people have certain expectations and needs. The real power is in the hands of the people. Whenever the people hold demonstrations, whenever they become firmly united and whenever they unanimously support their leaders and government officials, then America and even powers that are greater than America cannot do anything to harm them. We should maintain the support of the people and you intellectuals, authors, poets and religious scholars can do this. The most significant people are religious scholars who have a heavy responsibility. They should clarify for people what they want and where they are going. They should enlighten them about the problems and the enemy. They should help the people remain vigilant. In this way, no harm will be inflicted on the Islamic Ummah.
Another issue is training the youth in scientific areas. Islamic countries should make progress in scientific and technological areas. I said that the west and America dominated the world by means of science - one of the means they used was science. They acquired wealth by using science. Of course, they acquired part of their wealth by using political machinations and immoral methods, but science also played an important role. We should make progress in science. There is a narration which says, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Knowledge is power. Anybody who has knowledge will be able to dominate those around him. Anybody who fails to gain knowledge will be ruled.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" You should make progress in science. Acquiring knowledge is like having strong arms. If you do not have strong arms, other strong people will twist your arms. You should encourage the youth in your countries to make progress in science. This is possible. We have done this in Iran. Before the Revolution, we were ranked one of the lowest nations in terms of science. No one paid any attention to us. Today those who carry out research in this regard say that Iran ranks 16th in the world in terms of science and the news of our achievement spread quickly in the world. This has been achieved in the shade of the Revolution, Islam and sharia. News of this achievement spread several months ago. Those organizations who said this predicted that Iran\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s scientific rank would be single-digit in a few years. They specified a year by which Iran will achieve this rank - in 10, 12 years. They said that Iran will be ranked fourth. This is because Iran has a fast rate of scientific growth. Of course, we are still far behind the world. Our scientific growth is several times faster than the global average, but we are still behind other countries. If we move forward at this speed, we will make great progress. The world of Islam should continue making progress. Islamic countries are talented. We have good young people. They are very talented. Muslim peoples used to be pioneers in science during a certain period. Why would we not expect that the world of Islam will be an authoritative source of reference in scientific areas? Why would we not expect that we can reach a point where all countries turn to Muslim countries in scientific areas? This is possible in the future. We should try very hard. Progress in science can be achieved in the shade of Islam and regional revolutions. The Islamic Ummah has proved that it can move forward at a greater speed.
Another important issue is unity - it is almost time for praying and we need to go. Dear brothers and sisters, our enemies are making the best of the discord that exists among us. They are trying to create discord among Muslim peoples under such pretexts as Shia and Sunni Islam, ethnicity and nationality. They are trying to create discord by magnifying Shia and Sunni differences. You see that they are creating discord in Islamic countries which have carried out a revolution and in other Islamic countries. Everybody should be vigilant. The west and America are the enemies of the world of Islam. We should address and respond to this issue from this perspective. They are provoking the emotions of the people. Their intelligence services are working very hard and they sow destruction wherever they can. On the issue of Palestine, they created as many obstacles as they could. Of course, they failed in their efforts. We are moving forward. The world of Islam is moving forward.
The recent event in Palestine is very important. An 8-day war broke out between the people of Gaza and the Zionist regime which claims to have the strongest army in the region. But when both sides decided to declare a ceasefire, it was the Palestinian side that set conditions. Is this believable? Would anybody have believed ten years ago that one day there would be a war between the Palestinians - not all Palestinians, a group of them in Gaza - and the Zionist regime and it would be the Palestinians who set conditions for a ceasefire? Well done to the Palestinians. Well done! Well done to Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the soldiers who fought in Palestine and Gaza for their outstanding courage. What they did is a perfect example of courage. I want to express my gratitude to the Palestinian soldiers for their sacrifices, their efforts and their patience. They saw that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Verily, with every difficulty there is relief\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 94: 6]. If we show patience, God Almighty will resolve our problems. Because they resisted the enemy and showed great patience, God Almighty resolved their problems. This is a lesson for both the Palestinians and other people. You should not underestimate the significance of unity between Muslim peoples. It is a very important issue.
The point that our Bahraini brother raised about the silence of the world of Islam on the issue of Bahrain is true. The reason why some people are silent on this issue is that they have a denominational bias. According to these people, you can help people who have risen up against their corrupt government unless these people are Shia like the people of Bahrain. Some people have such an attitude towards this issue. They should change their attitude.
We should know the enemy. We should know what his plots and machinations are. We should know how he tries to harm us. Our position on the issue of Syria was based on such an outlook. We cannot even stand to see that blood runs from the nose of a single Muslim. Even this is very painful for us. What we say is that those who are dragging Syria into a civil war, destruction and fratricide are to blame for the current situation in Syria. The demands of all peoples should be met in conventional ways and without using such violence.
I hope that Allah the Exalted guides all of us. I hope that Allah the Exalted bestows His blessings on your efforts. I hope that Allah the Exalted bestows a bright future on this great wave of Islamic Awakening.
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings
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