Saudi Arabia slams Israeli policy of assassinations

RIYADH - The Council of Ministers of Saudi Arabia on 30 December condemned Israel for stepping up the "assassinations and arrests" of Palestinians and urged the United Nations to press the Jewish state to respect international laws.

Presiding over the weekly Cabinet meeting here, King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, asserted, "this dangerous escalation by Israel and the return to the policy of assassination and destruction aims at torpedoing all Arab and international efforts to calm the situation."

Information Minister Dr. Fouad Abdus Salam Al-Farsy said the Cabinet "affirmed the challenge by Israeli authorities to international laws and efforts being exerted to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the region." The cabinet renewed its appeal to the "UN to activate its resolutions relevant to the Palestinian affairs and press Israel to comply with the international resolutions." Palestinians are subjected to "daily killings, torture, arrest and house demolition... in an unprecedented shameful and brutal treatment which contravenes basic human rights," the Cabinet said. - SPA

MWL Secretary-General blasts US media attempt to insult Islam

MAKKAH - The Secretariat General of the Muslim World League (MWL) has strongly denounced the American media's deliberate insult against Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him). It expressed the outrage of Muslims all over the world over the repeated humiliation and insult to the Prophet of Islam in some American media organs.

The MWL remarks were published in urgent statement issued by the League's Secretary-Gen- eral Dr. Abdullah Ibn Abdul Mohsen Al-Turki regarding a cartoon published by the Florida State-based Tallahasee Democrat newspaper. The cartoon by cartoonist Doug Marlette headlined "What would Muhammad Drive?" shows Prophet Muhammad driving a nuclear-bomb- laden trucks similar to the one that used by Timothy McVeigh in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

A press release issued by MWL quoted Al-Turki as saying that some of those who are opposing Islam are working for defaming the image of Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him), the same thing they did when they published blasphemies about the Qur'an and explained its meaning in a wrong way.

He added that MWL is following up all these repeated insults that hurt the feeling of Muslims in the world. He explained that some church and media men contributed in the blasphemy against the Prophet and the Holy Qur'an. He cited Evangelist Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and Franklin Graham as well as programme transmitted by some American TV stations that insult Prophet Muhammad like the one aired by the American Fox News Network on 18 September, 2002 which attacked Islam and the Prophet of Islam.

Al-Turki pointed out that these media campaigns damage relation between peoples, put obstacles before the dialogue between civilizations and spread hatred among people. He disclosed that the objective of these anti-Islam campaigns are to provoke the people of the world against Islam and its civilization and serve as a justification for the discrimination and hatred against Muslims and promote conflict.

The MWL Secretary- General asked Tallahassee Democrat newspaper to apologize to Muslims for the defamatory attack on the Prophet and not to publish what defames Islam and the 1.5 billion Muslims in the world. He also thanked the Council of American Islamic Relations for its follow-up and its efforts to defend of Islam and Muslims

OIC warns of Muslim backlash over US move on Jerusalem

JEDDAH - A US Congress bill demanding the American Embassy in Israel be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem will only heighten Muslim resentment, the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) warned.

OIC Secretary-General Abdul Wahed Belqeziz voiced "particular concern because of the political and legal considerations stemming from this legislation which harm Islamic interests." On 24 December Bush signed into law the 2003 Foreign Relations Authorization Act but in an accompanying message made clear he would ignore provisions of the bill that would shift the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Such a move would recognize the disputed city as Israel's capital leaving aside the Palestinians who demand control of East Jerusalem, which the Jewish State seized in the 1967 war. The Bush administration had been urging lawmakers to take out the call for the relocation of the embassy, but Congress went ahead and included it." This decision is in total contradiction with (UN) Security Council resolutions," Belkeziz said in a statement in the name of the 57-member Islamic body based in Jeddah.

"Such an attitude from the American administration at a time when Israel is waging an unprecended campaign against the Palestinian people is liable to exacerbate resentment among Muslims... and is not liable to facilitate the role of the United States as co-sponsor of the Middle East peace process," he said.

Meanwhile, Qatar, which holds the rotating chair of the OIC, called the congressional move "a flagrant violation of Security Council resolutions on Jerusalem and a provocation against the feelings of Islamic and Arab nations."

The Qatar News Agency quoted a Foreign Ministry official as saying it also ran counter to the US policy "which considers that the final status of Jerusalem must be examined within the framework of peace negotiations."

Israeli killings slamed:

On the other hand, the OIC on 28 December strongly condemned Israeli's killings of Palestinians, accusing Tel Aviv of attempting to torpedo all peace proposals. Belkeziz condemned the "daily killings by Israeli authorities in the occupied Palestinian territories despite a period of relative calm," achieved with the help of Palestinians.

He appealed to the international community and members of the diplomatic quartet on the Middle East - the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations - to "halt these (Israeli) aggressions and provide protection for the Palestinian people."

He deplored the "Israeli government's deliberate attempt to turn the killings into a topic in the Israeli election campaign." - AFP

Arab League warns US against preemptive strike on Iraq

ABU DHABI - Arab League has said that all its 19- member states have unanimously opposed a preemptive US strike against Iraq and warned that should an attack take place, it would be a negative sign for future international relations. In an intrview to Khaleej Times, Hisham Badr, Chief of the Cabinet of the Arab League, said.

UN risks credibility

Responding to a question whether a US-led strike will be launched irrespective of whether Iraq has weapons of mass destruction or not, he replied, "If this were the case, it would be really dangerous. The UN and Security Council would then lose their credibility. This would also indicate that the international community is no longer on board. In the Iraq case, the arbiter is the Security Council."

Badr said that as long as Iraq complies, the US could not decide alone on going to war. Otherwise, it would be a blatant breach of the Security Council resolution.

"I think the time has come for the US administration to take into account and respect the Arab public opinion, especially when it comes to the Iraq issue," said Badr.

He added, "People of the Middle East are already frustrated by the atrocious policy practised by the Israeli army against the unarmed Palestinians, including mass killings and devastation of infrastructure. "This will be aggravated by any possible war against Iraq. - SG

Saudi, Kuwaiti ministers review cooperation in Islamic affairs

KUWAIT - Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance Sheikh Saleh Ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh held here on 28 December evening talks with Kuwaiti Minister of Justice, Endowments, and Islamic Affairs Ahmed Yaqub Bakir Al-Abdullah.

Speaking on the occasion, Al-Sheikh underlined the importance of coordination between the Saudi and Kuwaiti ministries of Islamic Affairs, and said it was an essential matter to benefit from the experience of the Saudi ministry of Islamic affairs in the field of endowments, mosques and Islamic call.

He noted that the Saudi and Kuwait sides were scheduled to review a number of important topics, notably the vicious campaign launched against the Islamic charitable work in addition to the ongoing attempts to defame the Islamic educational curricula.

Meanwhile, Al-Sheikh briefed the Kuwaiti minister on the activities and achievements of the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance.

Citing the achievements of the Saudi ministry, Al- Sheikh said the ministry issued in the last seven years 580 Islamic books, in addition to more than 10 million Islamic booklets and cassettes in various languages.

"Moreover, the ministry has been giving top priority to the problems of the Muslim minorities and international organizations in various countries, in addition to its partial or complete supervision of the Islamic centres and institutions," Said Al- Sheikh.

Al-Sheikh said, "Saudi Arabia and Kuwait participate in the investment fund of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in line with the resolutions adopted by the Islamic ministers of endowments in this respect.

"We have benefited from Kuwait's experience in the field of endowment's investments," he said, noting the importance of enhancing cooperation and coordination between the Saudi and Kuwaiti ministries of Islamic affairs.

Following the official talks, Al-Sheikh said that they had exchanged views on a number of topics including means of confronting the vicious campaign launched against Islam and Muslims by the western quarters, in addition to organization of Islamic and charitable works.

"We have also reviewed the issue of human rights in the contemporary time, the Islamic charter for human rights," he said. "Moreover, rights that are not approved and recognized by the Islamic Shari'ah are not viewed as genuine rights."

Meanwhile, Al-Sheikh and his accompanying delegation visited on 28 December the headquarters of the Islamic Charitable Commission, the Society of Social Reforms and the Society of the Revival of the Islamic Heritage as well as the office of the Higher Consultative Committee for Completion of the Implementation of the Islamic Shari'ah in Kuwait. - RD

IN BRIEF

King Fahd to host 1,000 pilgrims

RIYADH - Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque King Fahd will host 1,000 pilgrims from South Africa, Senegal, Ghana, Albania, Poland, Japan and South America this Hajj season, Sheikh Saleh Al-Sheikh, the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance, said in a statement on 27 December. The King will meet the expenses of these pilgrims, he added.

The ministry has taken all steps to facilitate a comfortable stay and pilgrimage for the royal guests. More than 7,455 guests from 26 countries have performed Hajj over the past six years since the King's personal sponsorship scheme was launched in 1997. - AN

Charities form group to fight suits

JEDDAH - Six Muslim charitable societies have formed an umbrella group which will defend the charities in the event lawsuits are filed against them in US courts by the relatives of the 9/11 victims. The Secretary-General of the Muslim World League (MWL) Abdullah Ibn Abdul Mohsen Al-Turki chaired a meeting of the charitable organizations in Jeddah recently and decided to fight the suits. The organizations have been accused of funding terrorism. The meeting decided to appoint Saudi legal firm Dr. Basem Abdullah Ali to represent them and allocated $1 million to cover initial expenses. The Saudi Attorney is expected to meet the American and European lawyers in this regard. - AN

SR2m IIRO aid for Asian, African countries

JEDDAH - The International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) has spent more than SR2 million to dig and equip 609 wells in 19 Asian and African countries during the year 1423H. In a press statement, Dr. Adnan Khalil Pasha, the Secretary-General of IIRO, which is an affiliate of the Muslim World League (MWL), said that the IIRO has spent SR2,589,154 to dig and equip those well in remote areas in order to provide the people with water for their daily consumption and for irrigation purposes. He noted that those remote areas have faced scarcity of water for a long time. - SPA

22 Koreans embrace Islam

JEDDAH - As many as 22 persons have embraced Islam in South Korea recently, an official of World Assembly of Muslim youth (WAMY) said.

Sheikh Abdur Rahman Le Joho, WAMY's representative in Seoul, said that the new Muslims, 18 of whom are women, included a Russian and a Taiwanese.

They said that they were always impressed by the unity, hospitality, friendliness, solidarity, and kind nature of the Muslims in South Korea, especially during religious occasions, such as the holy month of Ramadhan and the two Eids.

WAMY has appointed Korean Muslim scholars in its Seoul Chapter to carry out its Dawah programmes in South Korea, said Dr. Abdul Wahab Noorwali, the Assistant Secretary-General of WAMY. - SG