Categories : News

Afghan CEO Abdullah escapes Kabul shooting attack (Ld)

Afghan CEO Abdullah escapes Kabul shooting attack (Ld) Kabul, March 6 (IANS) Afghanistan”s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah on Friday escaped a shooting that took place shortly after he spoke at a public event here, a government official said, adding 18 people were injured in the attack.

See also BBC News.

UAE stealing Yemen’s Socotra manuscripts and artefacts, reports

Local sources on the Yemeni island of Socotra have expressed concerns over reports that the UAE delegate Khalfan Al-Mazrouei had facilitated the theft of antiquities and ancient manuscripts. The sources told Socotra Post that an Emirati antiquities team accompanied by Al-Mazrouei visited the oldest mosque in Hadibu, the capital of Socotra known for its historic dome, in addition to other archaeological sites.

Bahrain: Release of Hajer Mansoor long overdue others must now follow

Responding to today’s release of Hajer Mansoor, a prisoner of conscience who served a three-year prison sentence after a grossly unfair trial in Bahrain, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director, said: Hajer Mansoor’s release is long overdue, but she should never have spent a single day in detention in the first place Lynn Maalouf “Hajer was imprisoned for three years on absurd ‘terrorism’ charges, solely because of her family relationship with Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, a human rights activist who now lives in the United Kingdom.

See also BIRD Weekly 263 here.

Nine Years After Bahrain’s Uprising, Its Human Rights Crisis Has Only Worsened

It’s been nine years since Bahrain’s February 2011 uprising. Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in cities and towns across the country to protest the ruling Al Khalifa family’s tight grip on power, discrimination against the country’s majority Shia population, and arrests of political critics.

For the US Congressional Research Service report ‘Bahrain: Unrest, Security, and U.S. Policy’, updated Feb 20, 2020, click here.

Ma’rifa: A Shi’a Youth Conference

Shi`a students today find themselves dealing with a myriad of challenges. Between the struggles of navigating faith in America, creating spaces to cultivate spirituality, balancing several identities, as well as being a minority within the Muslim community, students need a meaningful forum to engage these issues.

Human Rights “Continued to Deteriorate” in Bahrain in 2019, Finds BIRD Annual Report

20 February 2020 – Today, The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) launched its 2020 Annual Report to mark the ninth anniversary of the Bahraini Uprising. BIRD’s inaugural annual report gives a comprehensive oversight of the human rights developments in Bahrain during 2019, concluding that the human rights situation has “continued to deteriorate”.

For BIRD Weekly 262, click here.

Understanding Structural Anti-Shī’ism in Sunnī Diaspora Spaces

Anti-Shia rhetoric continues to dominate Sunni-majority Muslim diasporic spaces across the Western world in MSAs, mosques, relationships, and third spaces. This piece works to break down the beliefs, attitudes, political dynamics, and behaviors I have been able to understand in which structural Sunni normativity and anti-Shi’ism exists and thrives in Sunni Muslim spaces.

8 UN Experts Condemn Bahrain’s Treatment of Political Prisoners – Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain

17 February 2020 – 8 UN Special Rapporteurs have expressed “grave concern” about the mistreatment of political prisoners Hajer Mansoor, Medina Ali and Nabeel Rajab in Bahraini detention centres, “which may amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.” In a letter to the Bahraini government, the experts …

For ADHRB Weekly Newsletter 335, click here.

Pushing for Protection: Advocating for the Shia – Shia Rights Watch

Annual Report 2019 In this report, Shia Rights Watch quantifies violence against Shia Muslims and presents the dynamics of anti-Shiism in various nations of the world. This report reflects year-round investigations arranged by native activists and international researchers on actions taken to endanger populations based on their Shia identity.

Dispelling Divides – Shi’a and Sunni Belief

The University of Edinburgh – Dispelling Divides A look at the differences and similarities of Shia and Sunni Belief with SABS Director General Imam Razawi and Shaykh Hassan Rabbani. With an increase in sectarian tensions across campuses in the United Kingdom, an event at the University of Edinburgh was held to bring harmony and dispel misinformation.