A roll call of notable people who died in 2008 Jan 4, 2009
Succeeded his father as Nation of Islam leader. Sept. 9. (Columbus Telegram, NE)
2008 Passages: Lives lost this year Dec 26, 2008
Clockwise from top left: Steve Fossett, Tim Russert, Miriam Makeba, Paul Newman, Heath Ledger, Isaac Hayes, Estelle Getty and Gene Upshaw all died in 2008. File photos clockwise from top left by: AP, Getty Images for 'Meet the Press,' AP, AP, AP/Focus Features, AP, AP, US Presswire. (USA Today)
Islamic and other artefacts to be auctioned off Oct 15, 2008
The keris Perabu, owned by Radzuan, is from the Demak period, long before Islam came to the region. Other Asian antiques of interest are a piece of cloth used to cover the Kaabah in Mecca and blinds from China. (The Star Online, Malaysia)
Crossing Morocco on camelback Sep 9, 2008
Along the way, we would meet a gregarious salesman, a rent-a-gecko handler nothing is free in Morocco and a quietly reverent group of guides who never missed Islam s five daily calls to prayer. Although it had been only a year since 24 Islamists were charged with planning to bomb key Moroccan cities, including Marrakech, none of us felt threatened or insecure as we traveled ... As in most Islamic countries, residents do not use alcohol. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Travel)
Searching for a quiet, enlightening getaway? Jul 25, 2008
NEW LEBANON, N.Y. - At the former Shaker village, where the Taconic Mountains roll into the Berkshires and New York touches Massachusetts, Yaqin Aubert read aloud Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, Zoroastrian, Judaic, Christian and Islamic texts during the Sunday service at the Sufi religious retreat ... Whatever your tradition, this mystical Sufi brand of Islam invites you to deepen your faith here without converting. (MSNBC -- Travel)
Raiders of Solo's lost art Mar 22, 2008
The museum's relics came from the grand Hindu and Buddhist empires that dominated the region before the coming of Islam - and the collections of Solo's King Pakubuwono XIII, who sits at the apex of Indonesian royalty. In recent years the once-powerful Surakarta Kraton - the ancient name for Solo's palace - has fallen on lean times. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Chinese province hopes to build dams despite concerns Mar 7, 2008
Reuters Published: March 6, 2008. The southern Chinese province of Yunnan is still hoping to build dams and hydropower plants, a senior official said Thursday, despite environmental concerns. (International Herald Tribune)
Pakistanis arrest three suicide bomb suspects Mar 6, 2008
More than 80 people have been killed in attacks in the past week, and well over 500 people this year, in a campaign of suicide bombings that intensified after troops stormed a radical mosque in Islamabad in July ... Pakistan has been battling Islamist militancy since joining the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States ... A Times documentary on Islam and Indonesia debuts Apr. (International Herald Tribune -- Business)
Shopping trip in New York? Don't forget your euros... Mar 3, 2008
Nato fears over Dutch Islam film. 21-year-old fathers seventh child. (BBC News -- Business)
Bhutto's party says it hasn't decided on candidate for prime minister Feb 6, 2008
Bhutto, a former prime minister, was assassinated Dec. 27 in a bomb and gun attack after she left an election rally in Rawalpindi, a garrison city near the capital, Islamabad ... President Pervez Musharraf's popularity is waning, not only among Islamist radicals but also among liberal-minded Pakistanis, retired military officers, lawyers and intellectuals ... Critics allege Musharraf has failed to stem an increase in Islamic militancy. (International Herald Tribune)
Thousands of Pakistanis march for divided Kashmir Feb 5, 2008
But trouble broke out in the capital, Islamabad, when an Islamic opposition party holding a Kashmir Day march tried to lead its supporters to the home of the detained former chief justice in a show of support for him ... Earlier, about 100 Kashmiris were allowed into Islamabad's protected diplomatic quarter to hold a peaceful rally outside the Indian High Commission ... India regards the whole of Kashmir as an integral part of its territory but Pakistan wants Kashmiris to decide in a... (International Herald Tribune -- Business)
Eight civilians said killed in Philippine offensive Feb 5, 2008
They said the civilians were killed during a pre-dawn mission on Monday by U.S.-trained navy commandos to rescue two hostages held by the Abu Sayyaf, a small radical Islamic rebel group ... Two commandos and three Islamic militants were killed in a military operation in the area at the same time ... A Times documentary on Islam and Indonesia debuts Apr. (International Herald Tribune)
Kabul police surround home of the former warlord Dostum Feb 5, 2008
Sangar Rahimi contributed reporting from Kabul, and Carlotta Gall contributed from Islamabad ... A Times documentary on Islam and Indonesia debuts Apr ... Students from the Red Mosque Koranic school in the Pakistani capital Islamabad are waging a campaign against. (International Herald Tribune)
Tributes flow at burial of Suharto Jan 29, 2008
Suharto, the former strongman of Indonesia, was buried Monday in a family mausoleum near here with a military honor guard, Islamic prayers and an overlay of the Javanese mysticism that, for some people, had given him the aura of a king ... An Islamic prayer was said, a bugler played taps, and the family gathered around the tomb to toss in handfuls of white and pink flower petals ... A Times documentary on Islam and Indonesia debuts Apr. (International Herald Tribune)
In Pakistan, gunmen are said to release children they had taken hostage Jan 29, 2008
In Islamabad, an American diplomat was found dead, and suicide was suspected, Pakistani and Western officials said ... Pakistani authorities found Mr. Ryan's body with a bullet wound in his head at his home in Islamabad, Reuters reported ... A Times documentary on Islam and Indonesia debuts Apr. (International Herald Tribune)
Pakistan rejects secret request by U.S. to increase CIA presence Jan 28, 2008
While officials confirmed some details of the discussion, much remains unknown about the continuing dialogue between Islamabad and Washington ... A Times documentary on Islam and Indonesia debuts Apr ... Students from the Red Mosque Koranic school in the Pakistani capital Islamabad are waging a campaign against. (International Herald Tribune)
Afghans search for kidnapped U.S. aid worker Jan 27, 2008
A purported Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said he had no information if the Islamic movement which is fighting against the foreign troops and Afghan government was behind the abduction ... A Times documentary on Islam and Indonesia debuts Apr ... Students from the Red Mosque Koranic school in the Pakistani capital Islamabad are waging a campaign against. (International Herald Tribune)
Nuclear weapons are secure, a top Pakistani official says Jan 27, 2008
The official, a senior military officer who is responsible for the custodial command and control of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal and spoke on condition of anonymity, ruled out any possibility that Islamic extremists could take control of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal ... Islamic militants have increased their attacks on the Pakistani military, and officials of its powerful intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, have been targeted ... The official said Pakistan would never allow any other... (International Herald Tribune)
Pakistan says its nuclear assets are safe from militants Jan 27, 2008
Media reports have said the Pentagon has contingency plans for seizing Pakistan's nuclear facilities if they ever fall into the hands of Islamic extremists ... Kidwai said a security division, led by a two-star general and manned by 10,000 professional soldiers, guarded the nuclear facilities and served as a dedicated intelligence network, rather than Pakistan's main spy agencies including the powerful Inter-Service Intelligence Directorate, which has historically supported Islamic militant... (International Herald Tribune)
As Suharto clings to life, Indonesians draw mystical connections Jan 26, 2008
But the version of Islam practiced by most people is mixed with the Hinduism, Buddhism and especially animism that were present before Muslim traders brought their religion in the 12th century ... "Indonesian Islam is what I call accommodative," said Azyumardi Azra, director of the graduate school at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University in Jakarta ... "Most Indonesian Muslims accept local tradition even though the local tradition could not be accepted by, say, Wahhabi-minded people," he... (International Herald Tribune)
Pakistan tests nuclear-capable missile Jan 25, 2008
Pakistan's army chief dismissed on Friday fears that the country's nuclear weapons could fall into the hands of Islamist militants as the military test fired a nuclear-capable missile ... A Times documentary on Islam and Indonesia debuts Apr ... Students from the Red Mosque Koranic school in the Pakistani capital Islamabad are waging a campaign against. (International Herald Tribune)
Islamic gathering expected to draw 3 million devotees in Bangladesh Jan 25, 2008
A three-day Islamic gathering that is expected to draw more than 3 million devotees to the banks of a river near the nation's capital began Friday amid tight security ... The gathering which has been held on the banks of the river every year since 1966 avoids politics and focuses on reviving the tenets of Islam and promoting peace and harmony ... Participants discuss the Quran, pray and listen to sermons by Islamic scholars from around the world. (International Herald Tribune)
Bush administration will fight for aid to Pakistan Jan 23, 2008
Fighters suspected of being Islamic militants in Pakistan attacked a fort near the Afghan border Tuesday for the second time this month, killing five Pakistani soldiers, The Associated Press reported from Islamabad ... The former prime minister speaking on Friday about Islam and democracy in Pakistan ... Students from the Red Mosque Koranic school in the Pakistani capital Islamabad are waging a campaign against. (International Herald Tribune)
American held in Pakistani jail is gravely ill Jan 19, 2008
The Pakistani ambassador to the United States, Mahmud Ali Durrani, who is visiting Islamabad, said Thursday that he was familiar with the case but could not answer specific questions. He said he intended to discuss Sarki's case with other Pakistani officials on Friday. (International Herald Tribune)
CIA says militant was behind Bhutto's death Jan 19, 2008
CIA says militant was behind Bhutto's death - International Herald Tribune. CIA says militant was behind Bhutto's death. (International Herald Tribune)
Bangkok claims international funding for Muslim militants is increasing Jan 18, 2008
Thailand's military-installed government said Friday that the violent Islamic insurgency in the country's south had intensified due to an influx of funding from local drug traffickers and many international supporters ... Analysts have long been divided over whether Thai insurgents are plugging into a broader Islamic movement or would rather be on their own in their four-year rebellion ... On Tuesday, suspected Islamic militants bombed a busy market in the south, wounding more than three dozen... (International Herald Tribune -- Sports)
Suicide bomber targets Pakistan mosque, killing 12 Jan 18, 2008
Pakistan has seen a wave of terrorist attacks in recent years, blamed by the government on Islamic extremists and tribal militants based in the semiautonomous tribal areas straddling the border with Afghanistan. Most of the attacks have been carried out by Islamic militants against the government, and the violence has not generally been between Shiite and Sunni groups ... Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad issued an alert to American citizens, urging them to take precautions during... (International Herald Tribune)
Frontier insurgency spills into a Pakistani city Jan 18, 2008
But in the past year, Pakistan's war with Islamic militants has spilled right into its alleys and bazaars, its forts and armories, killing policemen and soldiers and scaring its famously tough citizens. There is a sense of siege here, as the Islamic insurgency pours out of the adjacent tribal region into this city, one of Pakistan's largest, and its surrounding districts ... The proximity of Peshawar to the tribal areas where the Taliban and Al Qaeda have regrouped in the past two years makes... (International Herald Tribune)
Most Sri Lankan bus ambush victims were shot-military Jan 17, 2008
Reuters Published: January 17, 2008. Sri Lanka's military said on Thursday most of the 27 people killed in a bus ambush were shot by rebels as the passengers tried to flee rather than in the blast that struck the vehicle. (International Herald Tribune)
Islamic militants overrun fort in Pakistan Jan 17, 2008
Hundreds of Islamic militants attacked a paramilitary fort in Sararogha in the restive South Waziristan tribal region in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, killing 22 soldiers and taking several others hostage in a battle that lasted nearly six hours, government intelligence agency officials and local officials said Wednesday ... A spokesman for an Islamic group, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, which is sympathetic to the Taliban, said it carried out the attack and claimed that it had killed 16 soldiers... (International Herald Tribune)
Militants capture Pakistani fort Jan 16, 2008
(Additional reporting by Alamgir Bitani in Peshawar, Augustine Anthony in Islamabad and Hamid Shaikh in Hyderabad; Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by Jerry Norton) ... The former prime minister speaking on Friday about Islam and democracy in Pakistan ... Students from the Red Mosque Koranic school in the Pakistani capital Islamabad are waging a campaign against. (International Herald Tribune -- Business)
Up to 50 insurgents dead as rebels storm Pakistan base Jan 14, 2008
Islamic militants attempted to attack a Pakistani military base close to the Afghan border, sparking fighting that killed between 40 and 50 insurgents, while pro-government tribesman shot and killed two Uzbek extremists, officials said Sunday ... Pakistan has expelled an American academic who wrote about the rise of pro-Taliban militants in the country for The New York Times Magazine, a media rights group said, The Associated Press reported in Islamabad ... The former prime minister speaking on... (International Herald Tribune)
Afghan journalists seek release of colleague Jan 12, 2008
Kambakhsh was accused of mocking Islam and the holy book, the Koran, and for distributing an article which said Prophet Mohammad had ignored the rights of women ... Blasphemy is punishable by death in Islam and Afghanistan is a deeply conservative Islamic country ... Since the ouster of Taliban's radical Islamic government in 2001, dozens of newspapers and other publications, some funded by foreigners, have sprung up in Afghanistan which is going through an unprecedented wave of press freedom in... (International Herald Tribune -- Business)
Japanese prosecutors drop case against 4 suspected of classified defense data leak Jan 11, 2008
The former prime minister speaking on Friday about Islam and democracy in Pakistan ... Students from the Red Mosque Koranic school in the Pakistani capital Islamabad are waging a campaign against ... A Times documentary on Islam and Indonesia debuts Apr. (International Herald Tribune -- Sports)
As leaders move Indonesia forward, a repudiation of Suharto Jan 11, 2008
It was not engulfed in Islamic radicalism, although that struggle is still playing itself out ... As the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, it is demonstrating that Islam can be compatible with democracy ... In the marketplace of elections, political Islam has failed to win support, and Indonesians have mostly rejected the radicalism and violence of Islamist groups. (International Herald Tribune)
Suicide bomber kills at least 23 in Lahore, Pakistan Jan 11, 2008
A wave of suicide bombings has hit Pakistan in recent months, beginning with particular intensity in July after the siege of the Red Mosque in Islamabad, when government troops stormed a complex where militants supporting the Taliban had seized hostages. Last month, Benazir Bhutto, the Pakistani opposition leader who had served twice as prime minister, was assassinated in an attack near Islamabad that the government attributed to a militant linked to Al Qaeda ... "The security forces and one of... (International Herald Tribune)
Sir Edmund Hillary, first to climb to top of Mt. Everest, dies at 88 Jan 11, 2008
The Associated Press Sir Edmund Hillary in Nepal in 1963. The Associated Press Published: January 11, 2008. (International Herald Tribune)
SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE CONSOLIDATED BUDGET Jan 10, 2008
MAY (May, SHNS -- Column) -- In November, Benazir Bhutto noted: "I don't believe that a true Muslim will attack me. I believe Islam forbids suicide bombings." That was, at best, wishful thinking. At worst, it was lethal self-delusion. (Scripps Howard News Wire)
Suicide bomber targets Lahore High Court killing at least 20 Jan 10, 2008
About 3,500 police and paramilitary troops were deployed in Quetta, a city close to the Afghan border, ahead of the Islamic month of Muharram, which is often marred by bombings and fighting between the country's Sunni Muslims and its Shiite minority ... The former prime minister speaking on Friday about Islam and democracy in Pakistan ... Students from the Red Mosque Koranic school in the Pakistani capital Islamabad are waging a campaign against. (International Herald Tribune)
Malaysia's king calls for national unity after minority group protests Jan 10, 2008
King Mizan Zainal Abidin, in his annual speech marking the Awal Muharram holiday that starts the Islamic New Year, said Malaysians must value national unity and tolerance and act responsibly to maintain peace ... National debates have erupted over religious disputes prompted by government actions, including a ban on conversions from Islam and the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims ... The former prime minister speaking on Friday about Islam and democracy in Pakistan. (International Herald Tribune)
Ethnic Koreans killed in fire had left China for a new life Jan 10, 2008
Firefighters coming out of a warehouse after searching for survivors in Icheon, South Korea, on Tuesday. (hn Young-joon/The Associated Press). (International Herald Tribune)
Malaysia bans intake of India and Bangladesh workers Jan 8, 2008
Reuters Published: January 8, 2008. Malaysia has suspended the recruitment of workers from India and Bangladesh, the government said on Tuesday, in a move one official said could be linked to a recent uproar about Malaysia's treatment of its ethnic Indians. (International Herald Tribune -- Business)
Malaysia bans recruitment of Indian workers after unrest Jan 8, 2008
The Indian also say their religious rights are being trampled by Islamic officials ... The former prime minister speaking on Friday about Islam and democracy in Pakistan ... Students from the Red Mosque Koranic school in the Pakistani capital Islamabad are waging a campaign against. (International Herald Tribune -- Ed/Op)
Italy returns 41 objects to Iran discovered in an antiques market near Milan Nov 13, 2007
The former prime minister speaking on Friday about Islam and democracy in Pakistan. The French president tries to strengthen Franco-American relations and his country's place on the global stage. (International Herald Tribune -- Sports)
In brief: Matters of Faith Oct 14, 2007
TODAY: Eid-ul-Fitr (Islam), St. Edward's Day (Christianity). SUNDAY: Winter Nights (Heathen, Asatru) Holidays. (Anchorage Daily News)
Stars donate to Darfur aid sale Sep 8, 2007
Embrace Islam' Bin Laden urges. Deadly bomb rocks Algerian base. (Yahoo News -- Philanthropy and Volunteerism)
There's money in coins, but not for everyone Jul 21, 2007
At the other end of the scale are the ancient pre-Islamic silver coins of Sasanian Persia, with striking portraits of Vahran I and various other monarchs and, on the reverse, the Zoroastrian symbol, the fire altar. Early works of art from the heartlands of Islam, at modest prices of $300 or so - amazing. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Business)
Muslims in the U.S. Mar 12, 2007
Wearing a long, embroidered robe and matching hat, he took the microphone and began talking about a different group of Muslims, the thousands of African-Americans who have found Islam in prison ... Only 28 miles, or 45 kilometers, separate Talib's mosque in Harlem from the Islamic Center of Long Island ... For many African-American converts, Islam is an experience both spiritual and political, an expression of empowerment in a country they feel is dominated by a white elite. (International Herald Tribune)
Louvre Museum in talks to stage Greek, Islamic antique exhibitions Jan 15, 2007
SINGAPORE : Art lovers in Singapore may be the first in Southeast Asia to see rare Greek artefacts dating back some 2,500 years and 15th century Islamic antiques ... And Louvre Museum hopes to stage a major exhibition on the three Empires of Islam in the 15th to 18th centuries - namely Istanbul, Isfahan and Dehli. (Channel NewsAsia, Singapore)
