A local council in the Pakistani province of Balochistan has banned ‘designer beards’ The ban was announced by the Municipal Committee in the town of Omara, which is the seaside suburb of Gwadar city and has a population of around 35,000. The local council announced the ban at a special meeting held on Friday to discuss a course of action for the upcoming Islamic holy month of Ramadhan. During the council meeting, a local leader of an Islamic political party, …
A Pakistan-origin imam detained by U.S. immigration agents faces deportation to Pakistan for abusing religious workers’ visa. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said Hafiz Abdul Hannan, the leader of the Masjid Al-Islam mosque in New Haven since 2013, was taken into custody at his home on Friday. He was previously convicted of committing fraud in immigration documents and will remain in custody pending his removal from the United States, said Shawn Neudauer, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman. According …
Mosammat Ayatunnessa along with Achhia Khatun and Minara Khatun tied up a fleeing militant until police arrived Three women of the Ahmadiyya community have been honoured in two separate programmes for their exceptional bravery in the arrest of a suspected militant in Ishwarganj upazila of Mymensingh. They are Achhia Khatun, Mosammat Ayatunnessa and Minara Khatun. Mymensingh Superintendent of Police (SP) Syed Nurul Islam awarded each of the three with Tk5,000 and a sari at a ceremony at the Mymensingh Police …
Indian and Pakistani families came together on Sunday to celebrate the South Asian kite festival of Basant. Traditionally celebrated in Spring, the families have been coming together at Gunpowder Falls Park in Maryland for the past 7 years to celebrate the historic festival. The event which lasted from 12 pm till 5 pm was hosted by ‘Patang Pirates’, a group of avid kite flyers from India & Pakistan. The group was founded by friends Shukoor Ahmed, Nasir Jamil and Mazhar …
دائماً ما كانت جماعة الأحمدية مادة دسمة على طاولة الجدل الديني والتوظيف السياسي على حدٍ سواء في باكستان. بيد أن ذلك، لم يثير شهوة الباحثين والمتابعين لشؤون الأقليات للكتابة عن هذا الموضوع من جهة إرتباطه بتاريخ الصراع الديني والطائفي في باكستان. فالأحمدية والتي يبلغ عددهم 6 مليون نسمة تقريباً من مُجمل سُكان باكستان، كانت قد برزت كجماعة دينية مستقلة ولدت من رحم مجتمع مسلمي شبه القارة الهندية، عندما أدعى الميرزا غلام أحمد –زعيم الجماعة ومؤسسها – عام1989 م، النبوة، و قال …
The Ehtram-e-Ramazan ordinance which was first introduced in 1981 and was passed on the 25th of June 1981 is an ordinance with the official purpose of providing measures to observe the sanctity of the month of Ramazan. The ordinance extends to the whole of Pakistan and has been in force since it has been passed. The ordinance prohibits any person who, according to the tenets of Islam, is under an obligation to fast; to eat, drink or smoke in a …
A Pakistani-American lawyer has made a name for herself by taking down international terrorists in Court. Since 2009, 37-year-old Zainab Ahmad has worked as an Assistant United States Attorney in New York, and so far she has prosecuted 13 people for terrorism, without losing a single case. Zainab who grew up in suburban Long Island, New York says she had planned to be a hospital administrator, but things went sideways after the September 11th attacks, and she ended up at Columbia …
Imam Mostafizur Rahman was hacked with sharp weapons indiscriminately inside the mosque around 9pm The imam of an Ahmadiyya mosque in Mymensingh was critically injured after he was hacked by a group of three youths inside the mosque Monday night in a suspected militant attack. Imam Mostafizur Rahman, 35, of Khanpur mosque in Ishwarganj area was hacked with sharp weapons indiscriminately around 9pm after the Esha prayers. The attackers tried to flee as locals came to his rescue. The imam …
صوّتت اللجنة الوزارية الإسرائيلية بالموافقة على وثيقة قانونية جديدة تنص على أن إسرائيل هي “دولة قومية يهودية، وأن حق تقرير المصير هو حق يتفرد به اليهودي فقط دون غيره، وأن “اللغة الرسمية الوحيدة للدولة هي اللغة العبرية”. أما في الماضي وقبل صدور هذا القرار فقد كان القانون ينص على أن اللغة العربية هي لغة رسمية موازية للغة العبرية داخل الأراضي التي تتحكم بها إسرائيل، ولكن بعد صدور القرار الآن فإن مكانة اللغة العربية سوف تتضائل لتصبح مجرد ” لغة ذات …
The European Union delegation celebrated its first Europe Day celebrations in Pakistan by arranging a mini ‘Euro Village’ in the capital city of Islamabad. The event was led by EU’s envoy to Pakistan Jean-Francois Cautain. The family friendly event was held on May 6th at the Lok Virsa Heritage Museum and highlighted the diverse cultures of the European Union Member States through food, musical performances, and art exhibits. It was organized to raise awareness about the different cultural traditions of …
Pakistan has announced plans to increase Taxes for a non-Muslim majority town. The tax increase will impact residential homes and businesses. The Town of Rabwah’s Municipal Committee announced the proposed tax increase through a public notice which was published in a local newspaper on April 29th. The proposed new rates amount to an estimated 100% increase. Majority of the town’s residents are of Ahmadiyya faith, a sect which considers itself Muslim but has been declared non-Muslim under Pakistani law. Meanwhile, …
Pakistan’s has arrested a Hindu businessman in southern Balochistan province for allegedly sharing blasphemous content on WhatsApp. Prakash Kumar, a Hindu business owner was arrested under Sections 295-A and 295-C of Pakistan’s penal code for allegedly sharing a blasphemous image on WhatsApp, a popular messaging application.The police station where Prakash was being held was attacked by an angry mob, led by an influential religious cleric and a politician from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League party, demanding that police hand him …