The National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) “examination” of interfaith marriages in Kerala has not unearthed any evidence of coercion that can result in prosecution in these cases, officials familiar with the matter said. One of them added that while there may have been efforts to facilitate the conversion of either the man or the woman involved, there was no evidence of a larger criminal design.

“The NIA is not supposed to file any further report in this regard in the Supreme Court. As far as the NIA is concerned, the matter stands closed as the agency has not found any evidence to suggest that in any of these cases either the man or the woman was coerced to convert,” said a senior agency official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The agency picked 11 cases of interfaith marriages in Kerala for examination as part of its probe into so-called cases of “love jihad” at the instance of the Supreme Court.

These 11 cases were picked up from a list of 89 interfaith marriages that were already before law enforcement authorities (usually because of complaints by parents) and which were referred to the federal anti-terrorism agency by the Kerala police.
The investigation happened in the context of the celebrated Hadiya case.
Hadiya converted to Islam and married Shafin Jahan, but her marriage was annulled by the Kerala high court on the basis of a petition filed by her father; the Supreme Court set aside the high court order.

“At least one among the 11 marriages under examination was purely a matter of relationship gone sour. In most of the other cases we found that a similar set of people and organisations associated with Popular Front of India (PFI) were involved in helping either the man or the woman involved in a relationship to convert to Islam, but we didn’t find any prosecutable evidence to bring formal charges against these persons under any of the scheduled offences of the NIA, like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,” added the official.
The official said the Constitution of India had provided freedom to practice and promote religion in a peaceful manner to all citizens as a fundamental right. “Conversion is not a crime in Kerala and also helping these men and women convert is also within the ambit of the Constitution of the country.”

PFI’s legal advisor KP Muhammer Shareef labelled the concept of love jihad a “sinister design cooked up by right wing forces” to “target the Muslim community at large” and claimed the effort was aimed at portraying the Front and (its political arm), the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), as conduit pipes for love jihad.

“Umpteen investigations and enquiries conducted by various agencies have now found the allegation of love jihad is obnoxious, fictitious and without any scintilla of evidence,” said Shareef.
Still, the results of this investigation should not be construed as a “clean chit” for PFI, the NIA official said.
“There are separate criminal cases of serious charges of murder going on against the alleged cadres of PFI. Those matters are being dealt (with) separately.”

Among the 11 cases examined by the NIA, there were at least four cases of interfaith marriages where Hindu men embraced Islam or where efforts were made to convert them to Islam. In the rest of the cases examined by NIA, Hindu women married Muslim men.
“The NIA probe found that in at least three cases, efforts at conversion failed,” said a second NIA official who asked not to be named.

Hindustan Times

Uttar Pradesh police have accused Sameena Begum, who has been fighting against nikah halala and polygamy, of organising an acid attack on herself and two other women and filing fake cases against men. Two of her alleged male associates have been arrested.

According to the report published in news paper, the Mother of three who is a resident of Delhi is one of the main petitioners in the supreme court in the nikah halala and polygamy case along with a Delhi-based advocate.

“She filed an acid attack case against her husband on October 14 this year. However, since the case looked suspicious, a police team reached the spot to investigate the matter. After checking the CCTV footage, it was found that Begum along with her accomplices, Narendra Paliwal and DC Verma, had created the entire scene which Police arrest two accomplices of Sameena Begum, said superintendent of police, Praveen Ranjan Singh.

He added that “We have also found out that she has been involved in filing fake acid attack cases in the past too, we are in the process of unearthing evidence against Sameena Begum. Once that is in place, a case will be filed against her too.”

Sameena Begum, however, alleged a police is trying to defame her and derail her movement. She said that “I have always stood by the victims of triple talaq, nikah halala and others. Now that I need support, nobody is on my side. Police are trying to frame me.”

PTI

Various Muslim socio-religious and political organisations came together on a common platform here on Friday night to demand the central government to withdraw the ordinance on triple talaq as it is unconstitutional.

Muslim groups representing various sects urged the government to ensure that the religious and cultural rights and freedom guaranteed to Muslims by the Constitution are implemented in letter and spirit and not tampered in any manner.

A resolution passed at the public meeting organised by the United Muslim Forum (MUF), an umbrella group of different Muslim organisations, condemned the ordinance issued last week, criminalizing triple talaq. It said the piece of legislation was enacted through backdoor.

Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, Jamaat-e-Islami’s president of Telangana and Odisha unit Hamid Mohammed Khan, MUF president Raheemuddin Ansari and leaders of various organisations addressed the public meeting at MIM headquarters Darussalam.

“The present government seems to be conspiring to take away the religious identity of Muslims. When it failed to get the triple talaq Bill passed in the Parliament, the government has chosen to get an ordinance promulgated in an undemocratic manner,” the resolution said.A It hoped that better sense would prevail and the government would reconsider its decision.

Asauddin Owaisi, in his speech, demanded that Muslims should be allowed to practice their religion as the Constitution of India has given them this right. Referring to Supreme Court judgements on Articles 377 and 497, the MP said Muslims also want to live with freedom to practice their religion. “When homosexuals have been given choice and married men and women also given freedom to indulge in adultery without the fear of being punished by law, why are Muslims being denied freedom to practice their religion,a he asked.

Owaisi described the ordinance as anti-women and said this would lead to high rate of desertion of women by their husbands. He also voiced the apprehension that many Muslim youths would be jailed.

The MP said the Supreme Court in its judgment set aside triple talaq but did not term it unconstitutional. “When the Supreme Court made it clear that if a husband gives triple talaq, marriage will not dissolve then for what crime you are sending him to jail for three years under this ordinance,” he asked.

He reiterated that the ordinance is an attempt by the Modi government to divert people’s attention from Rafale scam, rising prices of petrol and diesel and failure to provide jobs.

Owaisi said if the government was really concerned about the welfare of women, it should make a legislation for 24 lakh women including 22 lakh non-Muslims who were married but abandoned by their husbands.

(IANS)

Kabul,  Taliban militants on Monday kidnapped 170 passengers after they launched an ambush on three buses on the highway connecting Kunduz province to Takhar, police said.

The Security Director of Kunduz Security Commandment, Safiullah Mahzon confirmed the incident and said the passengers were abducted from Khanabad district, reports Khaama News.

Mahzon said the passengers were on their way to Kabul.

No further details were immediately available.

The incident comes after a day President Ashraf Ghani offered the Taliban a conditional ceasefire.

[IANS]

A large white-and-blue truck pulls up outside a stadium in central Japan and slowly expands into a place of worship.

Welcome to the Mobile Mosque.

This July 23, 2018, photo provided by Mobile Mosque Executive Committee, shows Mobile Mosque, a mosque on wheels with the capacity for up to 50 people at Toyota Stadium in Toyota, western Japan. As Japan prepares to host visitors from around the world for the Summer Olympics in 2020, a Tokyo sports and cultural events company has created a mosque on wheels that its head hopes will make Muslim visitors feel at home. (Mobile Mosque Executive Committee via AP)

As Japan prepares to host visitors from around the world for the 2020 Summer Olympics, a Tokyo sports and cultural events company has created a mosque on wheels that its head hopes will make Muslim visitors feel at home.

Yasuharu Inoue, CEO of Yasu Project, said the possibility there might not be enough mosques for Muslim visitors in 2020 was alarming for a country that considers itself part of the international community. His Mobile Mosques could travel to different Olympic venues as needed.

“As an open and hospitable country, we want to share the idea of ‘omotenashi’ [Japanese hospitality] with Muslim people,” he said in a recent interview.

The first Mobile Mosque was unveiled earlier this week outside Toyota Stadium, a J-League football venue in Toyota city, which is also the headquarters of the car company with the same name.

The back of the modified 25-tonne truck flipped up to reveal an entrance and then the side slid out, doubling the width of the truck. The 48-square meter room can accommodate 50 people.

The mosque on wheels has the capacity for up to 50 people [Mobile Mosque Executive Committee via AP]
Muslim guests prayed inside the mosque, which includes outdoor taps and a washing area for pre-worship cleansing.

Indonesian students who were victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami also participated in the debut ceremony.

“The Mobile Mosque is very important to Muslim people such as Japanese people or tourists, Muslim tourists who visit Japan,” said 14-year-old Nur Azizah. “I want to show my friends.”

An estimated 100,000 to 200,000 Muslims live in Japan.

Tatsuya Sakaguchi, a Japanese guest, expressed hope the Mobile Mosque would help open people’s minds worldwide.

“Looking in from the outside at the people in the mosque, they looked very happy,” said Sakaguchi, the representative director of an Osaka retail company.

Inoue said the inspiration for the project came to him on a trip to Qatar four years ago.

Initially, the project organizers plan to target international sporting events both in Japan and overseas. Inoue said he hopes the project will do more than fill a gap in religious infrastructure.

“Going forward, I would be so happy if people from Indonesia, Malaysia, Africa, the Middle East and, for example, refugees who are coming from Syria are able to use the mosque as a tool to promote world peace,” he said.

The first batch of 820 pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir will be leaving for Saudi Arabia on Saturday to perform this year’s Haj pilgrimage.

Special buses from the Srinagar Haj House in Bemina area took the pilgrims to the Srinagar International airport early on Saturday.

Authorities said four Air India flights will be carrying them to the West Asian nation.

The last flight of Haj pilgrims will leave on July 25.

After an additional quota of 250 seats was allowed to the state by the All India Haj Committee, over 10,000 pilgrims from the state were able to perform this year’s pilgrimage.

The first flight carrying the pilgrims will return here on August 25 and the last on September 7.

By : Seedhi Baat

With the arrival of the Holy Ramadan, considering it to be an opportunity to make good business, many traders and business companies create variety of marketing strategies to attract the customers and persuade them to visit their business houses. The strategy includes printing of booklets of prayer time tables, handy cards of Sehri and Iftaar timings, calendars etc. and distribute them in various Masjids/Mosques. But, a Dress Material company from Chennai namely POTHYS, which is engaged in online business, has published a booklet containing Kannada Translation of Sura-e-Yaseen along with Arabic Text and has distributed in the Mosques in thousands of quantity.

Some people have approached the Editor of “Seedhi Baat” and accused the company of blasphemy making fun of the Holy Qur’an and Sura-e-Yaseen, in the name of the so-called marketing strategy. It has many errors. Without proof reading they have published the Qur’anic booklet. Moreover, it is distributing the booklet in the mosques in Bangalore, Chennai and in areas wherever they have branches. The complainants have appealed to the editor to seek explanation from the company as to whether this has been done with mischievous intention or with any other purpose.

POTHYS OFFICIALS NOT RESPONDING

Seedhi Baat Editor communicated to the Call Center of “Pothys” and has explained the issue in detail to one named Vijay, the media Manager of the said company and asked him to provide apology from the company. In response he said, this was not their mistake but it is the the fault of the printer. When asked, has the booklet been shown to any Scholar before and after its print? For this, there was no clear and convincing reply. When the editor of Seedhi Baat insisted and demanded that explanation letter or apology letter has to be released, Vijay responded by saying that after discussing with the top officials of the company we will revert to you by evening by 8 pm (i.e. yesterday as on 10 June 2018). But so far there has been no reply of any kind received nor any explanation. Vijay, who is the media Manager of the company, is not receiving our calls nor is he providing the contact numbers of the concerned officials of the Management, so as to have a direct talk with them. The errors have been found on page numbers 2, 5, 16, 22, 24, and last page number 30, the images of which are being shared for reference. The complainants have appealed that, in which ever mosque this booklet is being distributed they should be stopped forthwith and lodge a Police Complaints in the Police Station of their area, about the issue of manipulation in the words of Qur’an in the above booklet.

LEGAL COURSE OF ACTION

The complainants along with the Seedhi Baat Bureau is contemplating on taking on the Pothys and sue the dress store in to the court of law for its act of blasphemy and desecration of the Holy Quran.