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Israeli Apartheid

Calls for moderation at opening of Lebanon mosque

 

Sunni Lebanese Muslims pray outside Mohammed al-Amin mosque

Picture: (AFP/Ramzi Haidar)

Sunni Lebanese Muslims pray outside Mohammed al-Amin mosque as they attend its opening ceremony and the first Friday prayer in downtown Beirut. Muslim religious leaders, politicians and a crowd of thousands gathered in central Beirut today for the inauguration of Lebanon’s largest mosque, a project launched by assassinated ex-premier Rafiq Hariri.

Calls for unity and religious moderation from Muslim and Christian leaders have marked the opening of Lebanon’s biggest mosque in the heart of the capital.

The inauguration today of the Muhammad al-Amin Sunni Mosque also serves to boost the Sunni community’s place as a major player in the country’s politics.

It comes as Sunni-Shiite tensions continue to simmer after clashes earlier in the year and despite recent attempts at reconciliation.

Built Ottoman style with a sky blue central dome and towering minarets on its four corners, the mosque dominates downtown Beirut’s skyline.

It gained added prominence because of the adjacent grave of slain former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Sapa-AP

 

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Standing by sudan

Standing by Sudan
It won’t be fun for Egypt if Sudan breaks up, or breaks down under pressure. So Cairo stands by Khartoum come what may, notes Gamal Nkrumah

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As unfavorable ideas go, this one is a corker, as far as Egypt is concerned. The choices that confront Sudan preoccupy Egypt. One danger, for both Egypt and Sudan, lies in failing to think clearly about short term and long term. In the short term, peace in Darfur is a priority for both Egypt and Sudan. In the long term, Sudan’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty are at stake. "Egypt seeks peace and we don’t have a hidden agenda," President Hosni Mubarak declared. Egypt proposed a United Nations conference to discuss the ICC indictment of Bashir, even though the Sudanese government declined Cairo’s bid on the pretext that it might lead to the internationalisation of the issue.

"We are only concerned about Sudan’s interests and the welfare of its people," Mubarak stated categorically. He dispatched Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul- Gheit and General Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman to the Sudanese capital Khartoum to discuss the latest crisis concerning the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for President Omar Al-Bashir. Egyptian officials concur that the primary purpose of Egypt’s solidarity with Sudan is to advance the interests of the "two fraternal neighbouring states," as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the People’s Assembly Mustafa El-Feki told Al-Ahram Weekly.

 

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Assassinations anyone? cia claims of cancelled campaign are hogwash

Assassinations Anyone? CIA Claims of Cancelled Campaign are Hogwash
by Eric Margolis

CIA director Leon Panetta just told Congress he cancelled a secret operation to assassinate al-Qaida leaders. The CIA campaign, authorized in 2001, had not yet become operational, claimed Panetta.

I respect Panetta, but his claim is humbug. The U.S. has been trying to kill al-Qaida personnel (real and imagined) since the Clinton administration. These efforts continue under President Barack Obama. Claims by Congress it was never informed are hogwash.

The CIA and Pentagon have been in the assassination business since the early 1950s, using American hit teams or third parties. For example, a CIA-organized attempt to assassinate Lebanon’s leading Shia cleric, Muhammad Fadlallah, using a truck bomb, failed, but killed 83 civilians and wounded 240.

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