Muslim World League leader Sheikh al-Issa to address gathering in India, hold meeting with NSA Ajit Doval

News Network
July 7, 2023

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New Delhi, July 7: Top Saudi Arabia leader and Secretary General of the Muslim World League, Mohammad bin Abdulkarim al-Issa and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval would address a gathering in Delhi that would likely focus on civilizational dialogue, peace and tolerance.

Top officials said that al-Issa would arrive in New Delhi on July 10 and meet the NSA Doval for a one-on-one meeting in the evening.

They said that on July 11, at 11 am, on the invitation of Khusro Foundation, al-Issa would address a gathering of prominent religious and community leaders, academics and media at B S Abdur Rahman Auditorium, India Islamic Cultural Centre, Lodhi Road.

NSA Doval would also address the gathering, the officials said.

They said that given his previous work as Minister of Justice, Saudi Arabia, and Secretary General Muslim World League, he is expected to speak on moderate Islam, dialogue between civilisations, religious tolerance, intercultural communication, non-violence, and religious pluralism.

The officials said that many invitees including senior academics from various universities are showing keen interest in the event in view of Dr Issa’s nuanced stance on various critical issues facing the Muslim world.

As per sources, Dr al-Issa is expected to meet India’s Minister for External Affairs, S Jaishankar, Minister for Minority Affairs Smriti Irani, and he may also call on President Droupadi Murmu.

He would also meet the President of ICCR and interact with a group of distinguished faith leaders at Vivekananda International Foundation.

“He might visit Akshardham Temple and also meet some prominent personalities. During his stay in Delhi he is likely to pay tributes to martyrs at the National Police Memorial, Chanakyapuri,” the sources said.

Officials said that an important part of his engagement would be the visit to Jama Masjid Delhi for Friday prayers.

They said that he is also scheduled to visit Agra on July 6, 2023.

al-Issa is a prominent religious leader, Islamic scholar, and reformist.

Before being appointed Secretary General of the Muslim World League in 2016, al-Issa served as the Minister of Justice in the Saudi Cabinet.

As the powerful Saudi Minister for Justice, Excellency, he oversaw key reforms in several areas, including legislative reforms in family matters, humanitarian cases, and for the rights of women.

An alumnus of the prestigious Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, al-Issa has a master’s degree and a PhD in Comparative Judicial Studies.

An esteemed figure in global affairs al-Issa is widely recognised for his prominent role in promoting moderate Islam and fostering empathy, understanding, and cooperation among people of all backgrounds.

As the Secretary General of the Muslim World League, an influential non-governmental organisation representing Muslims worldwide, al-Issa has spearheaded initiatives to build partnerships and strengthen relations between diverse communities, faiths, and nations.

He also serves as the chairman of the Centre for Responsible Leadership, a body of globally influential government, faith, media, business, and community leaders working together to solve the challenges facing humanity and the world today.

Religious leaders, government officials, and international organisations have commended him for his efforts in promoting moderation, cooperation, and coexistence among people of different faiths.

Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy M Dolan referred to al-Issa as the “most eloquent spokesperson in the Islamic world for reconciliation and friendship among the religions of the world”.

Ndileka Mandela, granddaughter of Nobel laureate Nelson Mandela and head of the Thembekile Mandela Foundation, praised al-Issa as a "remarkable voice for Muslim tolerance and moderation”.

In January 2020, he led a delegation to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, to mark the 75th anniversary of the camp's liberation from Nazis.

In July 2022, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud appointed al-Issa the Khateeb of Hajj 1443 Hijri to deliver the Hajj sermon from the pulpit of Masjid Nimra.

The Hajj is the largest gathering of Muslims in the world and al-Issa used the opportunity to advocate a moderate message of Islam promoting harmony and compassion.

Under al-Issa's guidance, Muslim World League arranged a discussion and debate forum in Riyadh in May 2022 titled ‘Forum on Common Values among Religious Followers’ where the participants denounced the idea of an “inevitable clash of civilisations” due to religious issues.

The Charter of Makkah, endorsed in 2019 by 1000 religious scholars representing 128 countries, was an effort led by the Muslim World League under al-Issa to create a set of principles that support anti-extremism, religious and cultural diversity, tolerance and legislation against hate and violence.

Since taking over the Muslim World League in 2016, al-Issa has received a number of awards and recognitions from a wide range of prominent international institutions and government officials.

In 2020, The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre named al-Issa one of the most influential Muslims globally in its 2020 edition of ‘The Muslim 500: The World’s Most Influential Muslims’.

al-Issa received the 2018 Galileo International Award from the Galileo Foundation in Florence, Italy for his international achievements and leadership in promoting religious and cultural unity.

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News Network
November 10,2024

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Mangaluru: A tragic accident took place on Saturday at Chembugudde near Thokkottu, claiming the life of a 47-year-old woman after a tanker lorry ran over her. The victim, identified as Rahmat H Rashid, was riding pillion with her husband, Abdul Rashid G, on their scooter. 

The couple was traveling from Yenepoya Hospital to Bajpe when the scooter skidded on the poorly maintained road. Rahmat fell onto the road and was fatally struck by a tanker lorry that was coming from behind. Despite being rushed to the hospital, doctors declared her dead upon arrival.

The incident prompted a swift response from the DYFI Ullal Taluk Committee, which staged a protest on Saturday night, condemning the unsafe condition of the road. Nithin Kuthar, president of the committee, criticized MLA and Legislative Assembly Speaker UT Khader for failing to ensure safe infrastructure, despite touting the road as toll-free. 

Kuthar demanded immediate repairs, warning that the committee would march to the MLA’s office with black flags if the road is not fixed within a week.

Former DYFI State President Sunil Kumar Bajal also voiced frustration over the deteriorating condition of Thokkottu market, highlighting the struggles people face while crossing roads riddled with dangerous potholes. In response to public outcry, temporary repairs were made to the road at Chembugudde on Sunday, though locals remain wary and demand a more permanent solution. 

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News Network
November 21,2024

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Shares of Adani Group companies lost about $28 billion in market value in morning trade on Thursday after US prosecutors charged the billionaire chairman of the Indian conglomerate in an alleged bribery and fraud scheme.

Gautam Adani's flagship company Adani Enterprises tumbled 23 per cent, while Adani Ports, Adani Total Gas, Adani Green, Adani Power, Adani Wilmar and Adani Energy Solutions, ACC , Ambuja Cements and NDTV fell between 20 per cent and 90 per cent.

Adani group's 10 listed stocks had a total market capitalisation of about $141 billion at 0534 GMT, compared to $169.08 billion on Tuesday.

US authorities said Adani and seven other defendants, including his nephew Sagar Adani, agreed to pay about $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials to obtain contracts expected to yield $2 billion of profit over 20 years, and develop India's largest solar power plant project.

Adani Green in a statement on Thursday said the US Justice Department had issued a criminal indictment against board members Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani and the Securities and Exchange Commission had issued a civil complaint against them.

The US Justice Department also included Adani Green board member Vneet Jaain in the criminal indictment, it said.

Adani Green's units had decided not to proceed with the proposed US dollar denominated bond offerings due to developments, it added.

"Investors will shy away from Adani Group stocks ... and that's what this sharp selling is signifying," said Saurabh Jain, assistant vice president of retail equities research at SMC Global Securities.

"This could hurt the credibility of the group and maybe borrowing costs will rise," he said.

The indictment comes nearly two years after US shortseller Hindenburg Research alleged that Adani had improperly used tax havens and was involved in stock manipulation, allegations the conglomerate denied.

Also in early Asian trading on Thursday, Adani dollar bonds slumped, with prices down 3c-5c on bonds for Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone. The falls were the largest since the Adani Group came under a short-seller attack in February 2023.

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News Network
November 10,2024

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The media office in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli regime has been waging a genocidal war since last October, says as many as 188 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the onset of the brutal military onslaught.

The office provided the figure on Saturday, naming four journalists as the most recent victims of the onslaught.

It identified the foursome as Zahraa Mohammad Abu Sukheil, Ahmad Mohammad Abu Sukheil, Mustafa Khadr Bahar, and Abdel Rahman Khadr Bahar.

The office said it “strongly condemns the targeting, killing, and assassination of Palestinian journalists by the Israeli occupation and holds it fully responsible for committing this heinous crime.”

“We call on the international community, international organizations, and those involved in journalistic work worldwide to take action against the occupation, pursue it in international courts for its ongoing crimes, and pressure it to halt the genocide and the targeted killings of Palestinian journalists,” it said.

Earlier in the day, the office said the Israeli regime had bombed the tents sheltering journalists and displaced persons at the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Hospital in the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza for the ninth consecutive time.

The atrocity that claimed the lives of two people and injured 26 others came as part of “the genocidal crimes committed by the Israeli occupation army against hospitals, civilians, and displaced persons,” it said.

The media office held the regime and the United States, its biggest ally, as well as other countries aiding the genocide fully responsible for such systematic crimes.

At least 43,552 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and 102,765 others wounded since the launch of the war that followed a retaliatory operation by Gaza’s resistance groups.

The fatalities include 44 people, who were killed across the coastal sliver, in the most recent phase of the military onslaught.

As many as 24 of the victims were killed in the northern part of the territory, where the regime has markedly intensified its deadly attacks for weeks.

They included an eight-year-old child and a five-year-old one, who lost their lives after Israeli warplanes targeted a group of minors filling up jerry cans with water alongside their mother at the Jabalia Refugee camp.

Gaza’s heath ministry, meanwhile, said a number of victims remained under the rubble and in the streets following Israeli airstrikes, saying ambulances and civil defense teams could not reach them due to the sheer extent of the destruction caused by the raids and obstruction caused by the regime.

Also on Saturday, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, a United Nations-backed assessment, warned that famine was looming in northern Gaza amid escalated Israeli aggression and the regime’s near-total siege of the targeted areas.

The alert from the Famine Review Committee warned of "an imminent and substantial likelihood of famine occurring, due to the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip."

On October 17, the body projected that the number of people in Gaza facing "catastrophic" food insecurity between November and April 2025 would reach 345,000, or 16 percent of the population.

The IPC report classified that figure as Phase 5 -- a situation when "starvation, death, destitution, and extremely critical acute malnutrition levels are evident."

The Israeli military, however, questioned the report's credibility.

"To date, all assessments by the IPC have proven incorrect and inconsistent with the situation on the ground," the army said in a statement, denouncing "partial, biased data and superficial sources with vested interests."

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